TTAC Photochop: BMW X5M
Mr. Avarvarii emails: "From the spy photos I've seen, it seems like BMW are cooking a spicier version of the X5 (hotter than the 4.8 iS). I don't know if it is going to be an actual 'M' model; after all the naming is just marketing. But I'm pretty sure they won't be calling it MX5 ;) As I haven't seen any rendering of the thing around the web yet (nobody was brave– or dumb– enough), I felt obliged to give it a try. You can find the result attached as TTAC's first 'exclusive image.'" To which I can only add a simple question. While I understand (if not approve of) Bimmer's perceived need to carve-off a bit of the Porsche Cayenne's extreme SUV market, why would The Boys from Bavaria M-up a truck before breathing their performance-related magic on their already sublime handling 7-Series? With Mercedes S63, Audi's S8 and Porsche's forthcoming Panamera, you'd think an M7 would be the safer– and better– bet.
[For more Avarvarii photochopistry, click here.]
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We have an X3, and we like it. So I have to say we don't think BMW should drop the X series. My wife had thought she would get a sports car when we moved back to Houston, but the flooding and bad roads convinced her to keep the X3. OTOH, I can't understand the "performance SUV" thing at all. If you are going to have a performance SUV, it should be made for increased soft road, or off road performance. An SUV tuned for road racing is an oxymoron. I believe that building vehicles that don't make sense is good for a brand in the long run. I guess people buy them though, so what the heck.
That photochop looks good.
I guess they figured a world that hasn't shunned the Cayenne would welcome their bold-faced money grab as well. I've seen a few X5's that have been tickled by Dinan so I guess the market is there.
This image is probably spot on