In 2008, BMW hatched an oddly shaped duck. The X6 didn’t make a lick of sense when viewed through the lens of practicality. Its appearance divided opinions immediately; some were attracted to the idea of a portly SUV with limited usefulness – the barge-size personal luxury coupes of the 1970s set the unnecessary excess precedent – while others were put off by the fact that BMW pitched the fastback as a premium option that was priced higher than the equally luxurious but more useful X5. When the M-badged variant appeared in 2010, the idea of a four-person performance car that weighed more than 5,200 pounds sounded like a terrible idea on paper, and Robb Report’s team of voters placed it in 11th place in its annual Car of the Year voting … out of 11 entries.
Turns out paper spec sheets are a terrible way to measure a vehicle’s worth in the real world. After spending a year with a bright red X6 M, our editors had a very different opinion of BMW’s high-riding hatchback utility vehicle. We’ll stop short of calling it a swan, but considering its prodigious power and irrational speed, the BMW X6 M is more like a falcon in fowling feathers. It may not make sense on paper, but it works way better than you’d imagine, a dichotomy that made the X6 and especially the M-fettled version one of the most controversial cars of its time. For that reason alone, we’d save a spot in our garage of up-and-coming collectibles. But there’s more to the X6 M story. Here are five more reasons why the BMW X6 M is a future classic.
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It Was the First M-Tuned SUV
By 2010, the idea of an SUV – or Sports Activity Vehicle in BMW’s world – from a premium German automaker was nothing new. BMW led the way with its original X5, and Porsche cemented the notion with ultra-powerful versions of the Cayenne that shocked purists in the mid-2000s. But BMW’s M badge had yet to make its way from coupes and sedans to utility vehicles. The X6 M and its more practical X5 M sibling were the first of their kind, but as we know by now, certainly not the last.
If you’re into measuring performance down to hundredths of a second, the X6 M’s lower weight and center of gravity made it ever-so-slightly quicker than the X5 M. And both of them stacked up favorably to their competitors from Stuttgart.
It Was the First M-Tuned Vehicle With a Turborcharger
We’re about to sound like a broken record. Not only were the X Series machines the first SUVs from M, they were also the first to be fitted with a turbocharger. BMW’s S63B44O0 engine spins out 555 horsepower and 501 pound-feet of torque, which is enough grunt to shove the X6 M to 60 miles per hour in just 4.5 seconds.
For those keeping track, which in 2010 was absolutely everyone who was shopping for an ultra-performance SUV, BMW’s M-badged SUV duo were slightly more powerful than the Porsche Cayenne Turbo S and around $30,000 less expensive.
It Was the First M-Tuned Vehicle With All-Wheel Drive
A proper sports car sends its herd of horses to the rear wheels. But the X6 M wasn’t a car, it was an SUV, and that means all four wheels put power to the ground. As was the case with the turbocharger, all-wheel drive has since spread across BMW’s M-badged lineup, but the X Series was the first.
As you’d expect from a brand with BMW’s gaggle of engineers, the X6 M’s xDrive system was quite smart. BMW programmed it to send more power to the rear wheels than the front, which makes sense considering its track-first mission and the fact that, unlike other X models, the M-ified SUVs weren’t made for the mud. Coupled with adaptive suspension technology and wide, sticky tires, the X6 M could lap the Nürburgring in less time than an E46 M3.
It Was the First M-Tuned Vehicle With a Standard Automatic Transmission
As you can see by now, the X6 M marked a very clear turning point for BMW’s high-performance division. Not only was it a utility vehicle with all-wheel drive, it was also the first M-badged machine that didn’t offer a manual transmission option. Sure, the M3 had been equipped with an optional five-speed automatic, but those looking for the ultimate in speed stuck with the stick. Thing is, a well-tuned automatic with enough gears and the proper electronic brain is, ahem, faster than a human with their foot on the clutch and their hand on the shifter.
Naturally, there’s more to driving enjoyment than outright speed. But if elapsed times and personal bests are what you’re after, the automatic gearbox in the BMW X6 M delivers the goods.
Its Exhaust Manifold Was So Fancy It Was Patented
Yes, its exhaust manifold. It’s more than just a means of transferring spent gases from the engine to the piping that exits out the back of the vehicle. In the case of BMW’s turbocharged V8 in the X6 M, the turbochargers reside between the engine’s heads in a “hot-vee” arrangement. BMW’s M division engineered an exhaust manifold that resides between the engine’s twin cylinder banks and that is tuned to time each exhaust pulse so that it optimally spins the two twin-scroll turbochargers. It sounds complicated because it is complicated. And, as you’d expect, patented.
With their impressive list of first-ever platitudes, the M-fettled X twins stand out for bringing BMW’s M badge into the modern age. Of the pair, the X6’s uniqueness and the controversy surrounding its design make it the more likely ‘ute to turn heads and open pocketbooks in future years.
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