BMW expanding its M treatment from cars to SUVs and maybemotorcycles (or Sports Activity Vehicles in BMW parlance). The New York
Auto Show marks the world debut of the BMW X5 M and BMW X6 M, and in typical M
fashion, the high riders get substantially more power than their more pedestrian
variants. Both vehicles get uprated versions of the 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged
V8 that debuted in the X6 last year. Power goes from a mere 400 hp up to 555 hp
in M form with torque swelling from 450 to 500 lb-ft all transferred to the
ultra wide tires. While the increase in twist doesn’t seem like all that much, BMW is claiming it’s produced
from 1,500 all the way to 5,650 rpm. The 4.4-liter V8 is direct injected and
like other such engines with turbos, torque aplenty is the result. Like the
standard version of the V8, the M variant has the intakes on the outside of the
cylinder heads with the exhaust and twin turbos planted in the valley between
the banks. This new version sports a revised exhaust manifold that combines the
flow from both banks into the duo of twin scroll turbochargers.