One of the more interesting cars in the current BMW pipeline, a car that we’re extremely curious about, is the upcoming BMW X8. The X8 will be the first ever vehicle to be developed from the ground up by the M Division. There’s no pre-existing BMW that the X8 will be based one and it will be entirely unique. Some new spy photos have just surfaced, showing off that very fact. (We don’t own the spy photos but they can be seen here)
These new spy photos bring us closer to the BMW X8 than ever before, really allowing us all to get a good look at its unique styling.
It’s certainly a different looking car than any of the other SUVs in BMW’s lineup, which is actually kind of surprising. Even the BMW X7 looked like a big X5 in its spy photos. But this new X8 is a different thing altogether. It’s much lower and sleeker, with a more aggressively raked roof line and a higher belt line, which gives it a narrower window frame. It actually almost has a Range Rover Sport look to it in its silhouette, which is a bit refreshing. It’s certainly sportier looking, just in profile, than any of BMW’s other SUVs.
The BMW X8 seems to have large kidney grilles but not as large as the X7s and certainly not as large as the 4 Series’. They seem to be wider, rather than taller, on the X8, which is again refreshing.
Its Hofmeister Kink is obscured by camo in these photos but you can sort of make out where it will lie and it does leave a rather large D-pillar, so blind-spot visibility may be an issue.
At the back of the BMW X8 test mule, there’s so much camo that there’s really not much to see. However, the one point of interest actually has nothing to do with the car’s design. Instead, it has to do with the “Hybrid Test Vehicle” sticker on the rear bumper. As we’ve said before, the BMW X8 will come in a few different flavors; one of which will be an X8 M45e, which will borrow the same powertrain as the BMW 745e. There will also be a V8-powered plug-in hybrid X8 but this one seems to be the former, due to its seemingly tamer styling.
The X8 is one of the most interesting new BMWs to be in the works. Not only is it an all-new SUV that’s never existed before but it’s also the first ever car to be built and designed entirely by the M Division. It’s an important car for both BMW and BMW M, as its success or failure with either make or break any future bespoke M car endeavors. We can’t wait to see what it’s all about.
[Source: Motor1]
