BMW is hard at work
bringing a new three-row flagship crossover to market. But before the highly
anticipated new X7 arrives, word has it that the automaker is already considering
an M performance variant.
According to BMWBLOG, the debate is already being
waged in the halls of BMW’s headquarters in Munich as to whether such a model
should be made. Given that the top-of-the-line X7 M50i is already expected to pack
523 hp and 750 Nm of torque, the mounting speculation has it that the
X7 M could boast a solid 600 hp or so.
That would make it even more powerful than the
outgoing X5 M (and X6 M), which boasts 575 hp. It’d also pip the
Mercedes-AMG GLS 63, with its 577 hp, and the 575-hp Range
Rover Sport SVR and 557-hp Range Rover SVAutobiography.
The question is whether BMW will approve such a
model for the full-on M treatment, which has traditionally been reserved for
less bulky vehicles. In the 46 years of the M division and 41 years of the 7
Series, the Bavarian automaker has yet to produce a full-on M7 sedan – the
current M750Li coming the closest with its 6.6-liter twin-turbo V12 (borrowed
from Rolls-Royce) kicking out 602 hp but stopping short of an M7
designation.
But then, as BMWBLOG points out, the idea of an
M-badged crossover seemed unthinkable before the first X5 M was released in
2010. So suffice it to say, we’ll be watching this development rather closely
to see how it shakes out, if it ever does.
