When BMW M released the XM, the sub-brand’s first standalone model since the M1 supercar of more than 40 years ago, there was plenty of grumbling that the M brand had lost its way. How could a brand born out of racing make a heavy and hideous SUV its halo car?
Well, it looks like BMW wants to prove that the XM can do motorsports, too. The entry list for this June’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is out and the XM is on it. Not just any old XM though, but the flagship Label Red version of the PHEV off-roader.
While the standard XM uses a hybrid-assisted 4.4-liter V8 to punch out 644 hp (653 PS) and 590 lb-ft (800 Nm) of torque, the Label Red is tuned to deliver a more wholesome 738 hp (748 PS) and 738 lb-ft (1,000 Nm). But it’s going to need every one of those ponies to haul its lardy 6,000 lbs (2,722 kg) body up the 12.42-mile (20 km) course.
Sadly, it looks like BMW has entered the XM for an exhibition run, rather than a full-on assault on the SUV record. But it’ll still be interesting to see how the Label Red handles itself through the climb’s 156 corners on the way to the 14,115-ft (4,302 m) summit. The man doing the carving is Matt Mullins, chief driving instructor for the BMW Performance Driving School, but a first-timer on the Colorado mountain.
Related: Lamborghini Urus Takes A 17-Second Bite Out Of Bentley Bentayga To Become Pikes Peak SUV Champ
The current outright record is held by the Volkswagen ID.R, which completed the run in an unholy 7:57.148 in 2018 with French racing driver Romain Dumas at the wheel. The XM obviously doesn’t stand a chance of getting close to that, but should BMW decide to go for a proper timed entry, it will have its eye on the 10:32.064 SUV record set by Simone Faggioli in a Lamborghini Urus Performante in 2022.