The BMW XM plug-in hybrid super-SUV is the future of BMW’s M-car division, and now thanks to Japanese patent documents posted on the BMW iX Forums, we know what that future will look like. It’ll look a little Jeep-y, if I’m honest, although haters of the Concept XM’s exaggerated kidney grille will be happy to see it’s been toned down considerably for the production version.
The production XM design was filed alongside the design for the Concept XM on April 11, and both were just published by Japan’s IP office. While it’s notably toned down from the Concept XM, it keeps the concept’s odd, high trim line just below the side windows that really serves to make this bigger-than-X7 three-row look even chunkier. The production version also added regular door handles under this trim line, too.
Overall, this design is softer around the edges, but it all still feels a tad disjointed in a way that makes me want to host a séance to bring back the designers of the 2002. The front end has a lighting design similar to that of the new BMW 7 Series, and the rear now features larger, more conventional taillights in place of the funky curved tubes on the concept. Hopefully, we’ll be able to hear plenty of the XM’s stellar turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 through its hexagonal quad exhausts, though, as those stuck around as one of the best features of this new large SUV.
The good news is that the production XM should be a blast behind the wheel, should you decide that you like or tolerate the looks of it. Our Peter Holderith was impressed by the 643-hp prototype XM he drove earlier this year, and there’s an even more powerful XM in the works expected later on.
Got a tip? Email the author: stef@thedrive.com