BMW is trying to bring some life to a wilting segment.
In the twisted logic of automotive marketing, calling a four-door a “coupe” makes sense. And it also takes some work to provide a sport utility with a performance image. But that’s what BMW hopes to do when it presents in New York next month the M version of its mid-size X6, err, Sports Activity Vehicle, as it’s called in its marketing jargon. Let’s get this straight it’s not a SUV, but a SAV; but then it’s not a four-door, so it’s a coupe; that makes it a SAC — are you still with me?
The New York reveal does make perfect sense in this sense though, about 40% of all 24,000 global M sales occur in U.S. The M line of performance cars started simply enough with the hot rodder’s trick of an engine swap, in BMW’s case by taking the six-cylinder engine from the M1 race car and stuffing it into a 5-Series sedan. Der neue M5 resulted.
Faced with the collapse of its SAV sales, BMW is trying the old performance market gambit once again. The X6 M will have several new engine, drivetrain, and suspension technologies to transform the world’s first SAC into an M product, says BMW. (I guess that makes it a SAM?) All of these needed tweaks are unspecified at this time.
The biggest engine in the current X6 is the 4.4-liter V8. It has a mere 400 horsepower and 450 lb-ft of torque. It returns 12 mpg on the EPA city cycle. Even the smaller, 3.0-liter, inline six-cylinder engine has 300 horsepower and 300 lb-ft torque and 15 mpg EPA city. Both already have twin turbochargers and direct fuel injection. So could another engine swap be in the works?
In North America Sales of BMW Sports Activity Vehicles decreased a whopping 55.1% in February to 2,203 vehicles – almost 5,000 were sold in the same month a year ago. Year-to-date, sales of BMW Sports Activity Vehicles were down 31.1 %, to 5,738 vehicles compared to 8,328 sold in the same period a year ago. Naturally incentives appeared. We’ll soon see how they worked.
Prices for current model 2009 X6s range from $56,325 to $67,025, though you can easily add $10,000 in options on top of that. M means even More Money on top of that. This could be a tough sell in 2010.