BMW seems to be hellbent on cramming as many new car launches into its 50th anniversary year as possible. And although the M2, M3 Touring, M4 CSL and XM might be the headline acts, the M team still found time to upgrade existing cars like the X6 M.
Our latest spy shots of the X6 M show that
BMW’s test team is slowly stripping away the disguise on its prototypes, to the
extent that we can now make out the aggressive new lower bumper design. The
outer air intakes appear to feature a similar triangular shape to the ongoing
model, but this time there are some extra horizontal and vertical bars thrown
into the mix. The lower central air intake also looks like it’s gained some
additional bracing.
This latest test car also has some holes
punched into the mesh disguise covering the kidney grilles, but unfortunately
those holes aren’t quite big enough for us to make out what’s hiding behind.
The good news for those not in love with the giant grilles and split lights
seen on recent BMWs like the X7 and 7-Series is that the facelifted X6 M sticks
broadly to the style template laid down by the old car. The grille bars may
change is size, number or even orientation, but the kidneys themselves haven’t
grown any larger. If it looks that way that’s because BMW has slimmed down the
headlights, but not so much that it could no longer fit the DRLs and headlight
units in one cluster.
Like previous X6 M test cars, this one
doesn’t have any rear disguise and the light units look identical to those on
the current car, suggesting that BMW will only add them later in the prototype
cycle. We’re also not expecting to see much change under the hood. The current
X6 M runs a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 that sends 591 hp in standard
guise, or 617 hp when ordered with the Competition Package. But one
area that is in line for a major upgrade is the interior. BMW is upgrading the
entire X6 and X6 M range to its latest iDrive technology and large touchscreen
display fitted to the iX electric SUV.
