BMW X6: The SAC - Sports Activity Coupe

Motoring Channel Staff - 17/December/2007

Munich, Germany — BMW's Sports Activity Coupe, the X6, has broken cover as a fully fledged production vehicle, and is being prepped for it's first public outing at the 2008 Detroit Motor Show in mid-January.

Hot on the heels of Land Rover's new 3-door sports SUV, the LRX Concept, the new BMW X6 launch at the U.S. motor show will herald two world firsts - the new vehicle itself and a rip snorting new twin-turbo V8 petrol engine, which is expected to cause even more excitement than when the 6-cylinder twin turbo rocked the premium car market in the 335i.

The new V8 engine will be one of the most powerful engines in the BMW range.

BMW Australia says the new X6 has been confirmed for the Australian market, and will go on sale in the third quarter of 2008, though it's too early to speculate on prices [try $100,000 at least - Ed] - especially the mind-numbingly powerful 300kW biturbo V8.

The BMW X6 Sports Activity Coupe will go on sale in "global markets" (America, Europe) mid-way through 2008.

BMW's new 5-door sport crossover vehicle features a range of innovations, including the coupe-esque exterior design and a new levels of interior luxury.

Riding on 19-inch alloy wheels and displaying xenon headlamps, BMW has ensured the X6 delivers a premium look and feel in every respect. It will come equipped with top spec safety equipment, including super strong body structure that combines with a plethora of airbags to provide what BMW calls "outstanding defense of its occupants in all global crash tests".

Though the coupe-like body shell appears to have subscribed to the 'form before function' ethos, the BMW X6 has a high opening tailgate for easy loading and 570 litres of boot space (1,450 litres with rear seats folded).

Unlike most modern 4WDs or SUVs, the BMW X6 has only four seats, emphasising it's sports persona.

All four passengers will get to hear what could turn out to be one of the best-sounding (and driving) mainstream engines this side of Nissan 350Z's excellent VQ-series V6.

The new twin turbo V8 engine is already causing quite a stir even one day after it was revealed, and is expected to generate speculation as to its other uses: "Will it be in the new 7 Series?".

BMW's new turbocharged V8 engine has a 4.4-litre capacity, produces a significant 600Nm of torque, and will be known as the X6 xDrive50i when it hits new car markets around the world. Vital statistics are as follows:

Engine: 4.4-litre twin turbo V8
Power: 300kW (400hp) @ 5500rpm
Torque: 600Nm @ 1750rpm

As the specs suggest, the new BMW X6 xDrive50i is not your traditional SUV with mammoth amounts of power torque at low engine speeds that should deliver one of the smoothest driving experiences this side of a cutting edge turbo diesel.

The BMW X6, when fitted with the new biturbo V8, can sprint from zero to 100km/h in just 5.4 seconds, which will strike fear into the hearts other performance SUVs, such as the the Porsche Cayenne Turbo, Range Rover Sport, and Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG.

While the new force-fed BMW V8 delivers a potent power hit, the German car maker claims it uses an average of 12.5 litres of fuel per 100km on the combined city/highway cycle.

Getting these crushing levels of power and torque to the X6's wheels is the xDrive all-wheel drive system. Transferred via a 6-speed automatic transmission, the xDrive system incorporates a new feature known as 'Dynamic Performance Control'. 

According to BMW, the DPC system can split torque between front and rear axles, but also to either left or right rear wheels, not unlike Honda's SH-AWD system. This system has a standard 40:60 split front to rear and improves the vehicle's cornering abilities, particularly under full throttle. BMW refers to it as "improved agility and stability at any speed".

There will also be two other models offered alongside the bahn storming V8, both of which ratify the 'sports' tag in the X6's "Sports Activity Coupe" mantle by also using twin turbochargers to increase their potency.

After the range-topping X6 xDrive50i comes the X6 xDrive35i, which uses the twin turbo 3.0-litre inline 6-cylinder engine from the highly lauded BMW 335i. This engine reels out 225kW of power @ 5800rpm and delivers torque of 400Nm from a lawn-bowling 1300rpm. 

The new X6 must be fairly heavy, because with the force-fed 6-cylinder engine the X6 xDrive35i sprint from zero to 100km/h in 6.7 seconds - significantly slower than the 3 Series Coupe. Fuel consumption is much better than the V8: 10.9L/100km.

The third and final engine in the new 2008 BMW X6 line-up will be the 210kW 3.0-litre variable twin turbo diesel model. According to BMW, the 2,993cc straight 6-cylinder engine delivers peak power @ 4400rpm and its muscular torque output reaches its 580Nm zenith across a broad plateau stretching from 1750rpm to 2250rpm. In practice it's almost as quick as the twin turbo 6-cylinder petrol engine, dashing from zero to 100km/h in 6.9 seconds. 

No surprises that the diesel is also the 'greenest' model in the X6 range, sipping 8.3 litres per 100km on the combined cycle.

In terms of design, the production model X6 doesn't look hugely different from the concept car that made a showing at the 2007 Australian International Motor Show in Sydney.

BMW claims the X6 has an extravagant look with "a strong, striking frontal appearance complete with large air intakes" and a "steeply raked greenhouse" that help to emphasise it's performance credentials. 

We're not quite sure what "convex-concave surfaces" means, but it sounds good and we get the feeling that the X6 could be a lot more imposing on the road than as it appears in these photos.

Though pricing hasn't been confirmed for any markets yet, BMW has confirmed that a range of dynamic driving options will be available, including:

Adaptive Drive (anti-roll and adaptive dampers),
Active Steering,
Head-Up Display,
Adaptive Headlights,
Cornering Lights,
High-Beam Assistant,
Radar Cruise Control (with brake function)

There's also some comfort features to be offered as well:

BMW iDrive
USB socket
Multi-channel audio system
Rear-mounted DVD system
Four-zone automatic air conditioning
Active seat ventilation
Reversing Camera
Navigation systems
BMW TeleAssist

The new BMW X6 will be available in Australia from around October 2008, and will hit Europe and the United States slightly earlier - half-way through 2008.

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- BMW Concept X6 (2007)
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