We don’t know if it’s the venerable 4.4-liter unit found in the M5, among other models, or if it’s a new engine. Power for the Concept XM comes from a plug-in hybrid powertrain built around a V8 engine. The rear bench is mostly upholstered in quilted velvet, and the floor mat features deep-pile carpet. If you’re in the back, however, you may as well be in a club. If you’re in the front, you’re surrounded by brown leather upholstery that looks almost vintage, and you face a curved screen that’s similar to the one BMW makes available in the iX and the i4.
What the cabin looks like depends on where you’re sitting. Like it? BMW had better hope so, because the automaker stresses that the XM is, among other things, a preview of the X range’s next design language. BMW roundels in the upper corners of the rear window forge a visual link between the XM and the M1.
The roof line peaks above the driver and gently slopes down, though it’s not as swoopy as the X6, and the back end is dominated by a pair of thin LED lights that stretch well into the quarter panels. Its headlights are split into two separate modules, which is a futuristic take on a historic design cue, and LEDs frame the grilles. Visually, it falls in line with recent additions to the Munich-based company’s range by adopting the controversial oversized kidney grilles, but it’s not a Xerox copy of an existing model. Put simply, this is BMW’s long-rumored range-topping SUV, which many assumed would be called X8 or X9 to signal its flagship positioning. While the XM is new, we’ve heard rumors about it for many years.
It’s about to add a second vehicle to its résumé, and it previewed the high-performance SUV by unveiling a design study named Concept XM. BMW M has worked its magic on numerous cars over the past 50 years but it has only developed one model from the ground up: the M1.