Another hidden gem in the garages at BMW M facility in Garching was a BMW X5 LeMans. The one-off model was built by BMW to celebrate their 1999 victory at Le Mans using the 6.0 V12 in the LMR BMW and test the X5′s limits.
BMW X5 Le Mans is using an engine from the LMR prototype car – a V12 derived from the same S70 block as the McLaren F1′s V12.
An article written by our own Andrew Murphy back in 2008 says that aside from the V12 putting out around 700 horsepower, this behemoth came with a 6-speed manual, 20 inch performance wheels and a significantly lowered suspension.
If that’s not enough for you, it’s reported that Hans Stuck – BMW’s famed touring car and test driver hustled this car around the Nurburgring in under 7 minutes and 50 seconds – that’s only 25 seconds slower than a Nissan GT-R or Porsche 997 GT2 – and that was eight years ago!
The BMW X5 Lemans goes from 0 to 100km/h in 4.7 seconds, and it is “limited” at 311km/h. A massive 720Nm of torque at 5,000rpm is sent trashing through the 20 inch wheels with 275/40 profile tyres at the front and 315/35 profile tires at the rear.
The weight balance is very slightly front-biased at ratio of 51 to 49, but still perfect for a racing car.
To maintain a relatively low weight, carbon fiber has been applied throughout the car and inside, the rear-bench has been removed.
Here is a full gallery of the BMW X5 Le Mans.
