BMW 'eMpowers' Crossovers With 2015 X5 M and X6 M

Where better to reveal a pair of high-performance, luxury crossovers than Los Angeles? This is a market rife with Hollywood moguls, plastic surgeons and investment bankers. Customers like these often demand bodacious styling, bonkers acceleration and boatloads of creature comforts. Fortunately for the elite that call this town home both the 2015 BMW X5 M and X6 M deliver all of this and more.

Starting with the juiciest details, each vehicle features a 4.4-liter V8. Now, supposedly this is the most powerful engine developed by BMW for use in an all-wheel-drive vehicle. With a pair of twin-scroll turbochargers, direct fuel injection and the Bavarian firm’s Valvetronic system helping regulate airflow into the engine this unit kicks out 567 ponies and 553 lb-ft of torque, substantially more than its predecessor.

Sending all of that internal-combustion fury to each wheel is an M-tuned eight-speed automatic transmission. Thanks to the added traction this drivetrain can propel one of these luxury crossovers to 60 miles an hour in just 4.0 seconds.

Complete 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show

But accelerating like a mortar shell isn’t always a good thing, especially when it comes to the environment. Luckily these 2015 models are expected to be around 20 percent more fuel efficient on the European test cycle than their predecessors; official EPA figures are not available at this time.

Naturally the X5 M and X6 M feature aggressive styling that hints at the performance lurking within. They’re dressed with large front air intakes, special side gills, a four-pipe exhaust and forged M-specific 21-inch rims.

Appropriately these vehicles’ interiors are dressed up as well. Drivers are treated to an M-specific instrument cluster and steering wheel plus lots of other special touches that help justify their premium prices.

Base price for the X5 M is a little less than 100,000 bucks but the X6 M is slightly more expensive, kicking off at about 103 grand. Both of these vehicles are set to arrive at BMW dealerships in the U.S. next spring.

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