By late 2022 or early 2023, BMW plans to launch a new SUV that will crown the brand. Called BMW XM, or X8 (not yet official), for now, the brand presents its first image.
The expectation continues around the new SUV that BMW plans to launch in the coming months and that it will not be one more: it will represent the new great flagship of the brand and the sporty culmination of a spectacular range. Until now, all we knew were rumors or leaked information, but now, for the first time, the German firm unveils on your Instagram account a first teaser where he advances his first image and some information.
X8 OR X8 M? All keys
Of course, what is not yet clear is what name the model will have or what exact approach the brand will give it. If we attend information coming from France, the model we will call BMW XM, It will be an Electrified SUV exclusive to department M of the manufacturer and without correspondence in the series vehicle (something only comparable to what the M1 supercar represented in 1978) and that will crown the BMW range in 2022 already.
However, according to our German colleagues from Auto Motor und Sport, this new model, whose name is unknown, could be XM or X8, it will be just that, a new X8, or an X7 in the coupe version, with which the brand will complete its SUV proposal from above with a new model of coupe body and very sporty.
The reality is that, for now, BMW has released the first teaser where, next to the front of the new SUV (by the way, already with the large front grille that the X7 sports), announces a “BMW Concept XM: high performance, electrified. The most expressive statement in almost 50 years of BMW M. A unique X for the M brand, showcasing the new front design of the BMW luxury class. Stay tuned for BMW’s new luxury face”.
One of the keys will be to know how the XM denomination can affect if BMW carries it forward concerning the well-known Citroën model. From France, they point out that, owned by the French brand for the Gallic country, BMW had already obtained permission for this name in several countries such as the United States, Canada, or Australia, in addition to becoming its owner in the trademark and patent office of the EU, which would allow you to use it in the 27 affected states, including France. From Germany, they assure that another denomination, X8 M, is also protected and could be another option for use.
BMW XM 2022: its rivals and possible engine
According to AMS furthermore, this new SUV will come out next to the X7 of the American plant of Spartanburg, where it could begin to be produced even at the end of this year 2021. The prototypes are already being rolled in the last phase of tests on the open road, showing a very sporty silhouette and ensuring that it will become a new rival for the Porsche Cayenne Turbo or the Audi RS Q8.
With the promise of being a luxury SUV of the highest quality, at the moment all the mechanical information points to this the new large SUV will incorporate a hybrid version, probably plug-in, which will take high performance to another level. Thus, probably starting from the known 4.4-liter V8 engine displacement, important electrical support will be added, presumably as a propeller with an extra 200 hp.
With all this scheme, this future BMW XM or X8 M should exceed 700 hp, more than possibly even hovering around 750 HP of power. What seems certain, and evident, is that it will have an automatic and all-wheel drive gearbox. We will know more information very soon.
