The BMW XM concept car has taken originality very far. Its production version expected in 2022 will come back a little more in cosmetic standards. Russian illustrator Nikita Chuicko offers us his vision of the Motorsport plug-in hybrid SUV.
BMW unveiled the very surprising XM concept car, an imposing plug-in hybrid sports SUV with a colossal power of 750 hp. Its look matches, in particular its unique lighting on two floors. It heralds a new era for the brand’s design, also on the future generation of BMW 7 Series as well as its electric alter ego BMW i7.
Finally a big brother for the BMW M1?
But this BMW XM concept will give birth, in 2022, to a production model which will celebrate the 50 years of the BMW Motorsport label. Remember that it all started at the Geneva Motor Show in 1972 with the BMW Turbo prototype that gave birth to the BMW M1 E26. The mid-engine sports coupé was in the brand’s propeller catalog from 1978 to 1981, a model more for the image – in particular the Pro Car versions which officiated in raising the curtain of the Formula 1 championship – than for success. . The BMW XM will also be an extraordinary vehicle since it does not derive from a standard BMW in the range. Like the independent AMG automobiles of the Mercedes-Benz offering, its pedigree will allow the manufacturer to add more salt. The justified price of the exclusivity?
An ultra sporty plug-in hybrid
The mission of the BMW XM will be to pave the way for ultra-sporty plug-in hybrid technology with its turbo petrol V8 engine coupled to an electromotor accumulating a power of 750 hp for a torque value of 1,000 Nm. Enough to leave far behind the thermals Audi RS Q8 and Lamborghini Urus who are content with 600 hp and 800 Nm for the first, and respectively 650 hp and 850 Nm for the second.
Russian illustrator Nikita Chuicko didn’t patiently wait for 2022, he has already got down to business. Armed with Photoshop software and its graphic palette, he has slightly moderated the baroque lines of the XM concept to make it a little more frequent. It has obviously kept the lighting on two floors at the front as well as the imposing grille nostrils which, practically “square”, cut short the controversy over the controversial vertical bean grilles. With this new design of the air intakes, the brand leaves the door open to a possible return to the horizontal, such as the BMW i Vision Circular concept car. No one will complain about it.
Louboutin-style fires?
At the back, Nikita has taken great care to keep the design of the “pump” lights, is there a nod to a famous brand with a red sole? The quadruple exhaust outlet by juxtaposed pair also remains in the game. This plug-in hybrid must above all exude sportiness. In contrast, the wheel arches adopt a more conventional register like the sills as the model of the doors whose stampings, much less dug, will be easier to produce in series. A concept car made of a carbon fiber skin – necessarily more malleable – does not have this problem. Finally, the rear fenders like the treatment at the top of the tailgate are also becoming compatible with the constraints of industrialization.
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