Why there was also an M version of the X5
Today there is an M of every large BMW SUV, but with the first X5 M that may not have made sense for everyone. To understand the BMW X5 M, it’s best to call Sir David Attenborough, who will tell you that only the strongest frogs in the pool should breed. In this case they would have a shiny M on the buttocks.
It is said that in the old days there was a strict ranking in British business car fleets: the Sierra L was for the salesperson, the GL for its manager and the Ghia for the director of the sales division. The ‘more expensive’ the indication on the back, the higher the driver’s position. And the outside world would know that too.
Slip-on already powerful
Reasoning thus, the owner of a BMW X5 never does badly in such a pecking order. This SUV, which is coveted by many, already offers much more than you reasonably need. Even the entry-level version has no breathlessness, thanks to its powerful three-liter six-cylinder engine, good for 225 km/h. Yet there are always drivers with extra ambition and for them BMW built an X5 with a huge V8, the 48i. It could manifest itself furiously in the parking basement: hello, listen to my 83 extra horsepower! I can go 15 km/h faster and am a second and a half earlier at 100!
30 mille extra turnover
From a rational point of view, such a thing does not amount to much, but with two extra pots under the hood, the experience is very different: this X5 was audibly and palpably the fastest and strongest. At BMW, meanwhile, the cash register was cheerfully ringing: the V8 brought an extra 30 mille in turnover. That tasted like more! Why not build an über SUV? He could immediately keep up with the competition. In the mud puddle, in which the ranking of the male frogs seemed to be determined after exhausting battles, he thus arrived as the new final boss, who moreover took the lead with playful ease.
X5 M 200 hp over 48i
Logical, because the X5 M not only had a V8, but also two turbos and thus another 200 hp (!) extra. So 555 hp in total. Could he be home a little earlier after his business is done? Its undercarriage was extra advanced, perhaps also to mask the weight increase of 300 kilos. Meanwhile, the new iX M60 laughs in its electric fist. He lets those old petrol boys muddle in their pool, which he wisely doesn’t venture into. He doesn’t want to humiliate the old guard too much with his overwhelming muscle power. It would just cause a short circuit.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl