New York: BMW pulls sheet off X6 M

Here at the New York Auto Show today, BMW is publicly showing the new X6 M for the first time, resplendent in red. For all the questions that were raised about the X6's own reason for being a year ago when it debuted, the same questions are even more boosted with the X6 M. The standard 400-hp 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 has been boosted to a massive 555 hp and 500 lb-ft of torque. Does it make any more sense? Certainly no more so than any other 500-hp vehicle, but that's not what the X6 M is about. As BMW points out, M is about an expression of joy. Aside from the acceleration, we didn't find the standard X6 all that joyful. We'll have to wait until we get the X6 M on a track in July to see if nearly 40 percent more power can address that. We're just hoping the next M5 gets this engine.

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