#NO GRAVITY LASER CAR FULL#

Though the biggest wheels add unsprung mass and probably make the ride worse, we can’t imagine many people who don’t live down a farm track going for the small rims.

are giant 23-inch wheels (wrapped in 275 and 315 mm tires front and rear), though buyers can opt to downgrade to 22-inch versions (and BMW’s tech info also mentions tiny 21s, which are practically shirt buttons).

#NO GRAVITY LASER CAR FULL#

Active roll stabilization courtesy of electrically-controlled anti-roll bars is also part of the standard package, and the XM is the first full M car to come equipped with rear-axle steering.Īlso standard in the U.S. The XM always operates in all-wheel drive mode but the torque split can biased to the rear when 4WD Sport is engaged, and the M sport differential can shift power to the outside wheel to help turn-in on paved surfaces, or lock itself up completely to power through dunes. Related: BMW’s 750-HP Concept XM Revealed And It’s Even Scarier Than We Imagined BMW says the combination of a long wheelbase, wide track, near-50/50 weight distribution and low center of gravity thanks to the underfloor positioning of the battery pack ensures the XM strikes a decent combination of performance and comfort. And though the curb weight figure makes for uncomfortable reading, that mass is at least in the right place. BMW says that a pre-gearing stage between the electric motor’s rotor and the automatic transmission’s input shaft swells the motor’s real actual 207 lb-ft (281 Nm) output to 332 lb-ft (450 Nm), and makes its presence not only from a standing start, but when passing other cars on the highway.

On the the flip-side, while topping up the Porsche’s battery via a 7.4 kW charger takes only 2 hours to the BMW’s 3.25, the Cayenne’s pathetic 15-mile (24 km) EV range makes even the XM look long-legged.īut maybe the stoplight numbers don’t tell the whole story. The XM comes standard with a 155 mph (250 km/h) limiter, and coughing up for the optional M Driver’s Package only raises it to 168 mph (270 km/h). Porsche’s $173,800 Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid does the job in 3.6 seconds and can reach 183 mph (295 km/h). Zero to 60 mph takes 4.1 seconds, which isn’t only slower than the gas-powered X6M that costs $54k less (3.8 seconds), it means the XM is no faster than a $49,900 M240i xDrive coupe. Which is why a machine that is supposed to be a halo car for BMW’s M lineup is actually slower than many any other M-badged cars on sale, including several M-Performance, M-pretender cars. But they’re not as chunky as the curb weight figure we mentioned earlier. Those are reasonably chunky numbers and make this the most powerful M road car yet. Mix the two via a wet clutch pack in the transmission and you get 644 hp (653 PS) at 5,400 rpm and 590 lb-ft (800 Nm) on tap between 1,600-5,000 rpm. But bolted inside that transmission is a single electric motor that can generate 194 hp (197 PS). The regular XM is powered by a 4.4 liter twin-turbo V8 that on its own makes 483 hp (490 PS) and 479 lb-ft (650 Nm), which it delivers to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission. Related: 2023 BMW M2 Will Pump Out 453 HP From Twin-Turbo Six According To Dealer Bulletin If we’re splitting hairs it’s actually 6,062 lbs (2,750 kg), which makes the XM almost 2.4 times as heavy as an original E30 M3, and is an unfortunate by-product of fusing three heavy-ass automotive components, those being an SUV body, big twin-turbo V8 combustion engine and a hybrid booster pack with a sufficiently big battery (25.7 kWh) to allow the resulting creation to move short distances as an EV at up to 87 mph (140 km/h).

And that makes it a huge deal, not to mention a huge disappointment for some fans that will be dismayed to hear that only the second standalone car from an organisation founded to win races is a 6,000 lbs SUV. So the XM is the first real BMW Motorsport-department car to get any kind of electrical assistance.įirst dedicated M model since the 1970s M1īut more than that, the XM is the first BMW Motorsport product not spun off from a regular BMW model since the mid-engined M1 supercar of the late 1970s. But those are M Performance-branded, or M-lite, if you will, vehicles, automotive near-beer to full M models like the M3, M4 and M5.

The wording is important here, because BMW has already revealed fully electric (i4 M50, iX M60, i7 M70) and hybrid (M760e) cars that wear an M badge. The $159,000 (plus $995 destination and handling) super-SUV is the first high performance vehicle from M to feature an electrified drivetrain, BMW says.

No gravity laser car