At last weekend’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, BMW had Lamborghini in its crosshairs. Sometimes when you play with a bull you get the horns though and the XM’s attempt at climbing the peak quicker than an Urus ended in dramatic defeat. Its driver walked away but the big BMW needed a flatbed.
The BMW XM is a loud model both literally and figuratively. For example, the Red Label trim produces some 738 hp (550 kW) and 738 lb-ft (997 Nm) of torque. It manages to create that juice through the use of a twin-turbocharged V8 and an electric motor.
Clearly, it’s a force to be reckoned with in the battle of the big bruising SUVs. That’s why BMW wanted to go to Pikes Peak and prove that it’s even faster than the current record holder there, Lamborghini. The Urus Peformante set the record last year with a total time of 10:32.06 seconds and it managed to do that without electrification.
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After setting off with quite a bit of gusto, XM Red Label driver Matt Mullins actually got the back end of the big SUV loose on the very first turn of his run. That would prove to be a foreshadowing moment as about 20 minutes later commentators announced that he’d crashed. The BMW rolls by the camera with heavy damage to the front and shattered rear glass as well. There’s no word on exactly what went wrong just yet.
BMW released the following statement: “Unfortunately, our hopes for a record run with the BMW XM today ended with a race incident. Driver Matt Mullins is disappointed but unhurt. The focus now is on repairing the vehicle and planning for another record attempt later this summer.”
Thankfully for BMW, it still walks away from Pikes Peak with a bit of positive fanfare. Long-time Pikes Peak racer Rhys Millen scored a new production car record in the BMW M8 with a total time of just 10:12. For those who follow the Race to the Clouds, that’s meaningful because for decades the question of whether or not anyone in the unlimited class could break the 10-minute barrier was a real question – and Millen came close in a production car.