The stripes make all the difference.
BMW apparently thought the X6 M, the performance version of its SUV/coupe chimera, wasn’t attracting quite enough attention. So the Bavarians came up with the BMW X6 M Design Edition.
The most obvious change is the graphics package, with red, dark blue, and light blue stripes running from the front air intakes to the rear wheel wells and over the hood. The garish stripes make the white X6 M pictured here look like a 1970s CSL racer that’s gorged itself on strudel and marzipan for the last four decades.
Other upgrades include 21-inch wheels, carbon fiber front and rear splitters, and a black diffuser and grilles.
The interior gets black leather with Mugello red accents and piano black trim.
The changes may be entirely cosmetic, but the BMW X6 M already has plenty to offer in the performance department.
Under the hood is a 4.4-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 related to the M5’s mill. It produces 555 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque, which is routed through a six-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive.
BMW says the X6 M will do 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds; it’s top speed is electronically limited to 155 mph.
Only 100 examples of the X6 M Design Edition will be made, and it’s unclear if any of them will make it to the U.S., which is sad news.
Looks like American drivers will have to live with the total anonymity of a 555 hp SUV with a squashed roof.
