We still have a soft spot for the original E53 BMW X5. It still looks great, even today, and it was an incredibly important car for BMW, launching it into the world of SUVs. It’s also still popular among the enthusiast audience, as there are many BMW fans that like to modify the E53 X5 quite heavily. This specific one makes the term “modified” seem incredibly understated, as it’s basically a completely chopped up BMW X5 off-road buggy.
This build started out as a junkyard-ready E53 BMW X5, which looked as if it’d been a haven for raccoons. Then, some enthusiasts took a sawzall to it and cut the roof off, the top of the doors off and most of the fenders off. Then, the lifted it, put wheel spacers on it and fitted a roll cage where the pillars originally were. It was then fitted with off-road tires and the end result is something that looks like it could have starred in Mad Max.
We’re not sure what sort of powertrain/drivetrain modifications it was given, if it was given any at all, but it seems to be able to handle some pretty difficult off-roading with ease. These crazy Dr. Frankensteins flogged the Mad Max BMW X5 through the mud and dirt and it seems to have handled it with aplomb. It also looked awesome doing it.
So there’s a lesson to any of you enthusiasts who own an X5 that might be on its last legs or isn’t in the best shape. Just a sawzall and some can-do attitude and you can have yourself an off-roader that looks awesome, is fun to drive and one helluva story. Now I kinda wanna go Craigslist surfing for old, beat up E53 BMW X5 mules to go crazy with. This could get weird.
