As the world is patiently waiting for the unveiling of the production-spec XM which will be the flagship model of the BMW M range, some petrolheads are still scratching their heads on why this role wasn’t taken over by a proper low-slung sportscar or supercar. The answer to this question is quite simple according to the BMW M boss, who said that SUVs are now the most important segment, justifying their preference for a high-riding bodystyle.
More specifically, when asked by our colleagues at Autoblog, Frank van Meel, BMW M’s returning CEO, said: “When we did the M1, every car company that wanted to say ‘I have something special’ built a sports car – that was the segment everyone wanted to enter. If you look today at the biggest, most important, and fastest-growing segment, it’s clearly the SUV segment. And, in comparison to other manufacturers, we were still lacking this ultimate expressive luxury flagship at the top of M”.
In other words, people used to like sporstcars but they are now in love with SUVs, prompting automakers to offer more of them in all shapes and sizes. BMW has expanded its SUV range covering all the numerical elements from X1 all the way to the X7. While most of them have some seriously fast full-blown M variants (X3, X4, X5, X6), bringing a standalone M model into the mix is a pretty bold move.
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The BMW XM Concept (above) and the camouflaged prototype of the production-spec BMW XM (below) with evolved design features.
According to van Meel, the Bavarian automaker lacked a competitor in the high-end performance-focused luxury SUV segment: “Of course, there is the Mercedes-AMG G63, the Lamborghini Urus, the Aston Martin DBX, and so on. You see all of these high-end, very expressive models. For the customers, this is something that has been missing at M. That was the biggest demand”.
For many years it was rumored that BMW M was considering an exotic supercar to rival the likes of the Audi R8, and for the first time step into Ferrari territory. However, those plans never materialized and a large performance-focused luxury SUV got green-lighted for production instead. Thus, the XM, which was launched in concept form last year, is the spiritual successor of the mid-engined M1 from the ‘70s.
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The 2008 BMW M1 Hommage Concept still looks spectacular after all these years
The production version of the XM will be unveiled in 2022, coming with a plug-in hybrid powertrain and two power guises. The first has been confirmed to offer a combined 644 hp (480 kW / 653 PS) and 800 Nm (590 lb-ft) of torque from a “newly developed” V8 and an electric drive. This will be followed by a more powerful version matching the 738 hp (550 kW / 748 PS) and 1,000 Nm (737 lb-ft) of the Concept XM.
Speaking about the XM and its relation to motorsports, the CEO of BMW M said: “In our 50-year heritage, we’ve always looked at racing and series-production cars to see where each one is going and what they can learn from each other. We’re continuing this with the XM: it has a V8-electric plug-in hybrid system and our upcoming entry into the LMDh prototype category also has a V8-hybrid drivetrain. You can see that when it works for racing, it also works for the high-performance cars”.
