Autoblog

BMW has been aggressively expanding its vehicle offerings, and like most other automakers, crossovers make up the majority of additions. Earlier this year, team Bimmer added the X6, and with the X1 concept unveiled in Paris, mild-to-wild CUVs seem to be the focus for the boys in Bavaria. Automotive News is reporting that the SAV love will continue next year when BMW unleashes the X4. Design elements are said to come from the larger X6, which is to say that it'll probably look like a really tall hatchback. The X1 concept and the production X3 are based off of the excellent 3-Series platform, and we're guessing the X4 will also don the sharp-handling underpinnings.

If this is what BMW needs to do in order to remain the world's top-selling luxury automaker, we're not so sure it's worth the trouble. The X1 will probably sell relatively well, but it will do so with underwhelming sheet metal. An X4 based off the X6 sounds like an even worse proposition, but then again, we didn't think the X6 was a bright idea either.

UPDATE: A BMW spokesperson told 4Car that the automaker has no plans to produce an X4.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

BMW has its own grammar rules. For instance, M and X cannot appear in the same car name. So while a BMW sport-ute/crossover (or whatever they want to call it) can for all intents and purposes be an M vehicle – that is, top-of-the-line sport model with all the go-fast components and power to spare – it can never wear the vaunted M badge. That is, for the most part, just semantics. BMW's solution for the 'Ring-running versions of its taller vehicles is to slap an S on there instead.

With those rules laid down, we bring you these spy shots of a BMW X6 M 5.0iS. While the name might have you thinking that BMW has shoehorned in the M division's highly praised 5-liter V10 to the X6, sources suggest otherwise: the same twin-turbo version of Munich's 4.4-liter V8 producing in excess of 500 hp is expected to feature in the next M5. Information indicates a release in about a year from now, complete with all the extra dressings you've come to expect from a performance-oriented Bimmer. You didn't think Bavaria would pass up the opportunity to create a high-performance version of the strangest segment-buster yet, did you? Certainly not when the opportunity to further confuse us with its nomenclature is just so tempting.

[Source: World Car Fans]

Opinions about the BMW X6 are split around the Autoblog virtual water cooler and this teaser from Lumma Design hasn't helped. The German tuning haus will be unveiling a production model of its CLR X 650 at the Paris Motor Show later this year, and much like the standard X6, you'll either love it or loathe it.

What isn't up for debate is the CLR X 650's aggressive demeanor. If the nuclear mishap hue isn't enough to catch your attention, then the new fascia equipped with super-sized air dams, the side skirts, rear fender vents and revised mirrors will keep your wandering eyes in check. The whole package is slammed by 40mm over a set of 23-inch bespoke black rolling stock, while the interior is expected to get a color-matched instrument panel, aluminum pedals and a new steering wheel.

Even those of us partial to the X6's proportions aren't convinced that Lumma is doing the SAV concept right. But we have to admit that its revised stance compliments a few of the pseudo-'utes characteristics, even if it does remove the minimal amount of utility that was there to begin with.

[Source: Lumma via Autofiends]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the BMW X6.

BMW is marketing the X6 as an entirely new class of vehicle. As such, it's trying to catch people's attention in a revolutionary way. Utilizing hologram technology developed by the Dutch advertising firm, viZoo, a ten-foot long light-controlled area, the system will display a three-dimensional, interactive image of the X6 at four different locations in New York between April 21st and May 16th. The system is manipulated through a touch-screen mounted outside the display and allows participants to view the X6 from a variety of angles, check out the interior and get a run-down on the vehicle's stats. Unfortunately, BMW hasn't released any images or video of the X6 hologram in action, but you can read up on all the details in the press release posted below the fold.




[Source: BMW]

Putting one of BMW's newest X6 "Sport Activity Vehicles" (aka "SAV") in your driveway will cost you at least $53,275. That's the announced base price for the 300-hp X6 xDrive35i with its twin-turbo 3.0-liter six-cylinder (yep, that's the same powerplant shared with the 535i, 335i, and the 135i). If you want to pony-up to the 400-hp xDrive50i, powered by a new twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8, that will set you back another ten large as its base price is $63,775. All the details are available in the press release after the jump.

[Source: BMW]

This Monday, BMW will announce plans to expand its sole U.S. assembly plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina. This is more great news for Spartanburg, as BMW has increased production at the plant three times previously, and the facility is already running over capacity. Its stated capacity is 140,000 vehicles per year, but workers there cranked out 154,999 vehicles in 2007. BMW will reportedly expand its facilities in Spartanburg by 70,000 square feet, at a cost estimated at $27 million. This will bring the German automaker's total investment in Spartanburg to $4.83 billion since it opened in 1994. Clearly BMW has been a significant boost to the regional economy.

The German automaker is currently manufacturing the X5 SAV, Z4 Roadster and M Coupes, and the upcoming X6 SAV at the plant. In 2010, it plans to send the Z4 assembly to Germany, but bring all X3 SAV production to the States (some X3 production is currently done under contract assembly by Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria).

[Source: Automotive News Europe, subs. req'd]

Click above for more high-res images of the BMW X6

For some, the new BMW X6 sports activity coupe may be the car you've been waiting for. For others, the vehicle is a curiosity for embodying traits of both a crossover and sports sedan. It's got the ride height of a soft roader, but the sleek design and headroom-sacrificing profile of a performance vehicle. If this kind of cognitive dissonance appeals to you, a BMW X6 can be yours starting from $52,500 for the xDrive 35i model powered by the brand's superlative twin-turbo inline six-cylinder. That's not chump change, but is certainly less than the X6 xDrive 50i that starts at $63,000. For the extra ten grand or so, the X6 xDrive 50i is fitted with BMW's brand new twin-turbo 4.4L V8 that produces 400 hp and 450 pound feet of torque. BMW Blog also reveals a ton of optional equipment that's available for the X6, as well. These two MSRPs are just a starting point from which the cost of your X6 could take off like a rocket... that's made of money... and aimed at BMW HQ in Munich. If you require things like a navigation system ($1,900), heads-up display ($1,200) or the Active Ventilated Seat Package ($2,100), bring a lot of rocket fuel to your local BMW dealer.


[Source: BMW Blog]

BMW's twin-turbo 3.0L inline-six has been a rousing success, with nothing less than a Wards 10 Best Engines award sitting in its trophy case. The praise is understandable and well-deserved, as the engine uses a combination of forced induction and direct injection to serve up a torque curve that's far beefier and flatter than what should be expected from a engine of its size. So what next for the propeller brand? Simple -- take similar technology, add it to the company's 4.4L V8 and toss in a dash of unconventional packaging to make everything fit.

BMW put its latest jewel on display at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show, and we snapped some shots of it to give you an idea of why this engine is so special. We've included those photos in one of our galleries, and below the fold, we've thrown in a few observations.

click above to view more high-res live shots of the Cadillac CTS Coupe Concept

One bit of news we passed over on the way out the door of COBO Hall on Tuesday was the winners of this year's EyesOn Design Awards at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show. There are four awards given away each year, including Best Concept and Production Car and Best Concept and Production Truck. Cadillac sweeped the car side of things with the CTS-V being honored as Best Production Car and the CTS Coupe Concept named as the Best Concept Car. The BMW X6, meanwhile, was named Best Production Truck and the Chrysler ecoVoyager Concept nabbed the Best Concept Truck award.

The EyesOn Design awards are sponsored by the Detroit Institute of Opthamology and judged by a panel of automotive designers including ex-VP of Design for GM Wayne Cherry, Chrysler's Senior VP of Design Trevor Creed, the renowned Henrik Fisker, GM's VP of Global Design Ed Welburn and Mazda's Franz von Holzhausen.

More after the jump.

[Source: The Detroit Free Press]

click above to view more high-res images of the BMW X6

Dropping the "concept" descriptor that it carried in Frankfurt, the BMW X6 was just revealed at the Detroit Auto Show in full production trim. Not surprisingly, it's almost identical to what we saw in Frankfurt, with a sharply-raked backlight and hatchback replacing the squared-off rump of the X5. BMW likes to describe it as a blend between a coupe and a crossover, which leads us to ask - is it possible to crossover from something that's already a crossover? Does this mean that it's been double-crossed? The mind boggles.

Follow the jump for our first impression...