BMW builds the world's most powerful SUV (555 horsepower)

[DainBramaged]

How green of them.


This is the hot-rod SUV that BMW has been resisting for years. The Motorsport division continually turned its back on the idea of applying its high-performance formula to a vehicle built not for hustling down desolate back roads but ski vacations and carpooling instead.

Then again, profit margins are thin these days and SUVs have evolved, so BMW has changed its tune. The 2010 BMW X6 M is not only the first sport-utility to wear the "M" badge (alongside the new X5 M), but also the first modern Motorsport vehicle to use a turbocharged engine.

And before you dismiss the idea of an M car with forced induction, take a look at the setup. It's engineering at its finest. The Motorsport engineers managed to squeeze two twin-scroll turbochargers into the cylinder valley, along with a pair of catalytic converters and a two-piece exhaust manifold that earned a patent for its design.

It's not just for show, either. Output is a substantial 555 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque, all of which is on tap from 1,500-5,650 rpm. An M Sport six-speed automatic transmission funnels all that power to BMW's xDrive all-wheel-drive system.

The X6 M also comes standard with BMW's Dynamic Performance Control system, which is a fancy name for its rear differential that's capable of redistributing power to improve cornering grip. There's launch control, and using it will get the X6 M from zero to 60 mph in just 4.5 seconds, according to BMW.

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/autoshows/newyork/2009/2010bmwx6m.html?tid=edmunds.il.home.photopanel..1.*


Wow I bet it gets all of 15 MPG on the highway. How responsible of BMW.

[we can do it]

1. WHY?

[Javaman]

15. because they can.

perhaps they are the newest in the line of car companies that seem to prescribe to the social darwinism of the auto industry?

it will be amusing to watch them twist and shout in explaining this one. Especially when gas and diesel prices begin to rise again.

[and-justice-for-all]

2. waste of time , money and resources..

BMW is also building the Mini E, a mini cooper that is total electric.

[CRF450]

13. Not when theirs a market for it.

Auto companies will build what sells. I bet you if Toyota wasent selling cars well much like GM werent either, they'd be on the so called "gas guzzler" bandwagon too.

[BobRossi]

3. Man, if GM did that.....

The Birkenstock crowd would be all over them.

[DainBramaged]

11. The Ramen noodles crown would be all over them.

[phantom power]

16. Two things...

Firstly, I'm pretty sure "the birkenstock crowd" thinks this is a bonehead move no matter what car company is doing it.

Secondly, GM did more than keep their pipeline filled with gas guzzlers. Wagoner proudly announced his intention to keep his pipeline filled with gas guzzlers, even while gasoline was shooting for $4.50/gallon. Meanwhile, GM apologists accused people like me of being domestic-car bigots because we thought this was a not only a bonehead move, but also pretty arrogant and self-destructive. More recently, Wagoner, who has spent his career bashing "the birkenstock crowd" as DFHs for trying to pass improved CAFE standards, went hat in hand to Congress for money to save him from immediate bankruptcy, all while asserting that it was too much to ask for him to supply a business plan explaining how he was going to use this money to restructure his company to survive in an altered economic climate.

Thirdly (because I can't count), if BMW is also doing all those things, then I'm happy to pronounce that BMW's CEO is just as big an arrogant retard as Wagoner.

[Nihil]

17. Hah! I bet that *really* pisses off GM ...

... a *European* company producing a more powerful SUV than the crusty
old rednecks at GM can manage!

:hide:

(FWIW, I think that anyone buying a consumption-mobile like this needs
either tablets or counselling, regardless of *who* manufactures it ...)

[Idealism]

4. The management has lost touch with what the consumers want, clearly.

[lostnotforgotten]

5. Designed To Fleece The Pockets Of The Banksters And Their Bonuses We Paid For

eom

[MercutioATC]

6. There's a market for it.

The Porsche Cayenne Turbo (450hp, 165mph) sells like hotcakes.

BMW will always have a market for their M line...just as AMG Mercedes and Audi's S line will always sell.

[Deja Q]

7. Well, see, we're not the target audience. This is BMW - their target audiences are

CEOs and drug lords.

[MercutioATC]

8. ...and me!

I own an Audi S8, and I'm neither a CEO nor a drug lord.

Some people just like fast cars.

[Deja Q]

10. Well, nobody's perfect...

:D

[bbinacan]

9. 20 MPG on the highway. n/t

[CRF450]

12. Thats a cool engine, 4.4 liter v8 and twin turbochargers make it 550+hp, I like it!

Though the X6 doesn't look that big at all to be classified as an SUV don't you think? More like a crossover to me. As for fuel milage I dont see a curb weight rating anywhere. A cars weight these days would have more bearing on its fuel consumption than just horsepower alone.

[muriel_volestrangler]

14. 2400kg (5280lb) - what a fat behemoth

and ugly, too. I think the Top Gear comment on the Porsche Cayenne applies to this too:

"What are you lacking in your life that makes you think you need a Cayenne? Go get some counselling."

[hunter]

18. That's a weenie SUV.

If you really want to impress the boys you need one of these:



http://nexploreshockwave.com/shockwave.html