BMW lovers anxiuosly await ‘Ultimate M car’ launch Sept 27

Lovers of luxury BMW brand of vehicles will not have to wait too long again for the launch of the much talked about XM, which the German automaker tags ‘Ultimate M car’.

Indeed, many sources close to the automaker say the high-end M SUV will be unveiled on September 27.

The luxury XM is a new model for the BMW SUV lineup. The performance-oriented XM is a two-row crossover with sporting intentions and tuning by the brand’s vaunted M division.

At the concept form, the XM wears an aggressive design with gaping kidney-shaped grille openings, stacked tailpipes, and a slightly sloped roof that hints at a fastback shape. Under the hood is a 644-hp plug-in hybrid powertrain that gets its muscle from a twin-turbocharged V-8.

The fully revealing patent images of the final version emerged at the end of last month to confirm the dedicated M car won’t be much different from the Concept XM.

Before then, fans had been very critical about the design of the car after seeing the concept images as falling short of their expectation of an ultimate SUV from BMW.

Although the front fascia is said to be perhaps less striking now that the 7 Series G70 and X7 LCI also have a split headlight design, the large kidney grille is still polarizing.

The most obvious change compared to the concept will be the adoption of regular door handles, but there are other tweaks as well. For example, the front bumper is not as aggressive since the lower air intake is narrower and now incorporates the radar sensor for safety features and driver assistance systems, says bmwblog.com.

Some of its other features show at the back, the Concept XM’s stacked dual exhaust tips are staying, and there’s a good chance the BMW roundels in the upper corners of the glass will remain as well.

The taillights are also less slick as on the concept model. The roof is less tapered while the hatch takes a more conventional shape, typical to a crossover. Overall, the shape of the production XM is a bit more conventional in design than the concept car.

“Its panels are not as sharp and the design is simply more cohesive. There are no images of the interior, but we’ve already seen a glimpse of it in the XM prototype we drove. It basically mimics the design of the BMW X5 M Competition, with minor changes unique to the XM,” says bmwblog.com.

BMW has two XM models in the works at the moment – a 750 hp plug-in hybrid and the 650 horsepower PHEV XM we tested, according to bmwblog.

“Our tester also delivered 800 Newton metres of torque (590 lb-ft of torque). It uses the new S68 4.4 liter V8 TwinTurbo engine which was recently introduced in the BMW 760i and X7 M60i.

“The petrol engine delivers around 490 horsepower while the rest – 160 hp – come from the electric motor.

“There is also a brand-new eight-speed ZF transmission with an integrated electric motor, sitting in front of the transmission, with clutches in between.”

It is expected that some of the flaks from fans concerning the expectations of a car being touted as the ultimate M car, after the concept unveiling, would have been taken into consideration ahead of the grand launch.

One of the fans reported by carbuzz.com, says for years, BMW has been a brand for enthusiasts and the XM – despite its powerful engine – is a slap in the face to loyal fans.

“Yes, the company has a strong tradition of building high-performance SUVs such as the X5 M, but it’s never been described as the ultimate M car. We hope the performance subsidiary looks at these comments and takes note,” says another commentator as indicated in the cabuzz report.