BMW UK expects to sell 2,300 of its new X6 ‘sports activity coupes’ in a full year – and it’s already a sell-out.
All of this year’s allocation of 1,600 will have been sold by the official on-sale date of 31 May .
Some 85% of those sales will be the diesel engine X6 xDrive30d and xDrive35d.
Petrol engine models for the UK are the xDrive35i, a twin-turbocharged unit that produces 306hp and is capable of propelling the model from zero to 62mph in 6.7 seconds, and a new twin-turbocharged, high-precision direct injection, 4.4-litre V8 engine producing 408hp.
This all-new engine, not seen in any other BMW before, is the most powerful production non-M BMW V8 engine ever. It is also the world’s first engine to locate twin-turbochargers and a catalytic converter within the cylinder ‘vee’, allowing the use of the twin turbo system without having to reconfigure the double wishbone front suspension.
The engine line-up proves that BMW is over its traditional suspicion of turbo-charged engines, according to X6 product manager Martin Sloan.
While the X5 SUV had been acclaimed as the best handling 4×4, Sloan said the X6 is a car that makes a statement in terms of style and performance and added that, while the X5 already leads the segment, “it does not dominate”.
He said: “The time is right to break the mould again with rivals such as the Porsche Cayenne, Range Rover Sport and the upcoming Infiniti FX. The X6 is very dynamic in terms of handling.”
It uses BMW’s dynamic performance control, available only in the X6, and unique in its ability to make a four-wheel-drive vehicle, with its inherently mild understeer characteristic, to perform with the responsiveness of a rear-wheel-drive car.
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