What M did next

THE FIRST WHOLLY M-ENGINEERED CAR SINCE THE M1 IS A 2.8-TONNE PHEV SUV. HERESY? OR SHREWD MOVE?

- GEORGE KACHER

BMW DESIGN POLARISATION 2.0 comes in the shape of this XM 60 xDrive, a 486kW badass SUV in shitstorm livery that takes no prisoners. Have they gone nuts in Munich – or is this Marvel-meets-manga PHEV behemoth firmly on the pulse of time after all?

The response to the XM show car, which was unveiled in Miami late last year, could not have been more scathing. Social media scorned and derided the first new model released under the second regime of M chief Franciscus van Meel. Malicious tongues discredited it as a Skoda Kodiaq avatar deformed by a Russian Kamaz truck grille; notorious pessimists feared the demolition of the BMW brand by a single product allegedly capable of delivering the blow of death to an already tousled image; while professional design analysts diagnosed a brutal monster predestined to divide society. Strong stuff – perhaps we should reserve final judgement until the real thing without camouflage panels gets introduced later in the year.

Not the first time a BMW’s been controversially designed, though. The current 4 Series and iX immediately spring to mind. Even the latest 7 Series at least stirs the debate further; managing to fuse the cathedral kidney, the optional Black Pack and the M sport outfit to a surprisingly coherent piece of street furniture. It’s not pretty but expressive.

Subjectively, the XM’s front-end is 90 percent grille and 10 percent body colour. Surrounding the XXXL double air intakes are origami surfaces made of sheet metal and composites that throw hard shadows complemented by continuously changing reflection effects.