gavriil

This is the BMW X5 Le Mans. Just the fact that a vehicle that weighs more than 2 tons and almost 6 feet tall managed to surpass the 300 klm/h mark at the Numberbrug track is phenomenal!




This SUV managed to have a best lap of 7 minutes and 50 seconds of the 20.8 kilometer (12.93 miles) track, when the Z8 supercar needed 26 seconds more for the same distance. The top speed of the X5 at the straights of the track was 193.28 miles per hour!!! (311 klm/h). The DTM BMW car was only 12 seconds faster on this track folks. We are talking serious quickness here. And here is partially how:



This is a V12 M engine coming from the LeMans car making 700+ HP and 532 pounds of torque. Look at that carbon fiber intake sucking air directly off of the front of the car. The car wore slicks on the track and the tire sizes were 275/40 for the fronts and 315/35 in the rears on 20 inch wheels.



Finally there have been some changes in the interior as well. But look how nice that brushed alluminum looks.

Gabriel
CL Type S

kuwolde

Any word on this might be something that makes it into production? I can just imagine how much this version of the X5 would cost.

soopa

that is crazy

someone loan me 200k?

astro

that will not likely be for sale anytime soon...too much tech in that motor!

it was 10 seconds faster than the new 2002 Porsche 911GT2 around the same track...mind you, the X5 did have Hans Stuck behind the wheel...

M5 Lite

Hans Stuck is the man! If it was anyone else, I doubt they would be as good as that time on that track.

That will probably never see production because of the costs involved. Who here would pay $200k+ for a super SUV?

I know I would rather spend my money on some other car.

someguy

Just imagine what they could do with that engine in an M5. I'm not sure it could fit into an M3 or M coupe! Less than 8 seconds around the Nurburgring is insanely fast, I think only 8 production cars have done it.

BTW: I belive the production car record was 7'36" or so set by a Jaguar XJ220

[ 08-29-2001: Message edited by: someguy ]

e1828

Anyone else notice how small the rims and tires are on the front wheels compared to the rear ones in the first pic?

gavriil

This is a very astute observation. Though I did not translate it from the article, the article mentioned that the wheels were also different. I did mention about the tires being slicks.

gavriil

Looking at the angle of that V12, it looks like it is pretty narrow. Cos long-wise it is probably not a problem as a V12 is like two 6 cyl. inline. So if width is not a problem, length is probably not one and the engine might fit in an M3. I am pretty sure this engine fits in an M5 because the X5 and the 5 series cars are sharing a lot of parts. And note that whatever fits in a 5 series car will fit in the new 6 series coupes coming out soon.

But the rumors are that the next M5 will wear a V10. Yes a V10. Technology taken directly from BMW's F1 project (for those that do not follow, pretty much all engines are in V10 configurations for a long time now in F1 and the displacement limit is 3 liters).

But the real news is that that V10 engine although being quite large at 5 liters of displacement, will turn at 9000 RPM!!! I say at least 550HP and 470 pounds of torque.

A screamer 5 liter V10 turning like an S2000's inline 4! I would like to see that!

In addition to that, they will use a true sequential gearbox (just like the one in motorbikes). No clutch here though.

There are rumors that that same engine will be used for the new 6 series coupe coming out in 2001.

gavriil

By the way, F1 engines this year turn at an approximate 20,000 rpm to make about 800 normaly aspirated HP. So increasing displacement by about 70% and dicreasing the rpm limit by more than 50% should be no problem for BMW's Motorsport division for a road car which will cost about $75,000+.

M5 Lite

Where do I sign?

gavriil

Hehe. Even if I had the 200K to spend on a car I would not go with an SUV no matter how fast it is. Inertia is inertia and 2 tons is 2 tons.

CLpower

they aren't making it...they just did one to see what the chassis can handle.

gavriil

That is correct. There are no plans to make this car. The fastest X5 will be the 4.6 is which will make 345 HP and go against the ML55 AMG which is the fastest SUV in America right now.

z28typeSWRXkid

that is a stupid decision...they shoulda waited to fit the 400hp M5 V8 in that and called it the .
///M X5

e1828

I think it will be called the X5 HP right?

Chris

haha crazy! i've always like the X5... kicks the M-class anyday!

vince

That is not going into production any time soon. However, look out for the X5 4.6iS, which has ~360-380 hp. It will be a 2002 model.

someguy

BMW will not make an M version of the X5. Think about it, why would you want a race-tuned SUV?

M5 Lite

Well the X5 4.6 is going to be an ///M SUV w/o the badge. BMW went against the idea of putting the badge because then it would be called the 'MX5' and they said they would run into problems with the 'MX6' from Mazda and didn't want to go that route and slow down the release.

Basically the X5 4.6 and the ML55 are race oriented and can probably waste lots of cars out on the road and the track.

Why race oriented SUV? Even people driving SUV for their own reasons (higher up visual, safer (don't agree with this one), more room) want more power coming from a SUV. Heck it they could take 7 kids from the soccer game and put them in an X5 and take them 0-60 in under 6 seconds, I think that'd be pretty nice of them, don't you?

someguy

The X5 4.6 is NOT an M tuned car, it has the same suspention as the 4.4, but it does have larger brakes and tires. It really just has a larger motor, brakes, and tires. The X5 also cannot seat 7, only 5. Personally, I would much rather have an M5 wagon. And the X5 is the safest vehicle available today, but most other SUVs aren't.

[ 08-30-2001: Message edited by: someguy ]

M5 Lite

M5 wagon {shrugging at the thought of getting smoked by 'moms car'}.

Well, looks like we both got some things straight. I thought that the X5 4.6 engine was enhanced by 'M'. Thats not fair, AMG is doing all the build for the ML55. Looks like we'll have to be magazine watchers and see who tops who.

vince

M5 wagon! I have always wanted one of those. Instead, my parents bought a 525iT. If I can't find an M5 motor lying around, I'll turbo it.

Squishy

Is it much cheaper to buy these BMWs in Germany than in the US? I might consider getting one of these...

vince

The amount you save is about just enough to pay for your vacation in Europe.

Southpaw

its amazing how they made that truck that fast, i want one