You may have already heard the buzz over BMW’s two new entries to the crossover market – the 2010 X5 M and the 2010 X6 M, both of which will debut this fall. When photos of the new vehicles leaked, BMW released official photographs along with a press release that contained information about the vehicles. So far, the cars haven’t been made available for test drives, so we have only the information from BMW to whet our appetite.
One thing that’s unique about this new class of cars is that they both feature staggered size front and rear tires, which will be run flat tires on alloy wheels. The front tires will be 275/40 R 20, while the rear tires will be 315/35 R 20. This is designed to emphasize rear wheel power and offer exceptionally good balance to the cars. In addition, BMW boasts that these vehicles will offer world class transitional stability, along with razor sharp steering. The brake system features fixed calipers in the front and floating calipers in the rear, along with lightweight brake discs, leading to improved stopping distance and accuracy.
In addition, the BMW X6 M has a very powerful engine and safety features to match. Curtain head airbags – front and rear – will protect passengers, while those in front will also be protected with hip and thorax air bags. There are force limiters on all seat belts and pre-tensioners on the front seats, which also have active head restraints designed to minimize the risk of injury to the cervical spine in the event of a rear crash. ISOFIX child seat anchors will be standard for the rear seats, keeping all the members of your family safe.
The vehicle’s central safety system also anticipates the severity of a collision when activating the restraint systems. In the event of rollover, the dynamic stability control system, working together with rollover sensors, pretension the seat belts and activate curtain airbags. The body of the vehicle is designed so that the impact of a crash is diverted along multiple load paths, which will avoid excessive loads on any individual structure and divert the force of the impact away from the passengers.
You’ll be glad to know that this is a safe car designed to prevent and protect you from an accident when you find out what kind of power is lurking beneath the hood. The BMW X6 M has a 4.4 liter V8 engine that can deliver 555 horsepower, along with 500 lb-ft of torque. This is a vehicle that can accelerate from 0 to 60 in an impressive 4.5 seconds – as quickly as many of the smaller sports cars on the market today.
In fact, this isn’t just a vehicle that accelerates – it launches. Launch control is a real feature on this car, and it will get you off the starting line from a standstill with maximum power. Just put the transmission into M1, press the brake pedal, push the accelerator down to at least 60 percent and look for the starter’s flag in your instrument cluster. All that remains is to take your foot off the brake pedal and you’ll experience the full thrust of this turbocharged engine at maximum power. Once you’ve left everyone else behind and achieved your desired cruising altitude, just back off the accelerator a bit and enjoy the ride.
