One of BMW’s best-looking cars, the X5 SUV, is getting ready for a facelift, which will not only bring new style but also new substance. In some new spy photos, we get to see some of the new visual updates but also an indication of its new mechanical upgrades. (We don’t own the spy photos but they can be seen here)
In these new photos, we get to see the upcoming BMW X5 M60i LCI, which will replace the current X5 M50i as the M Performance car in the X5 lineup. Visually, its upgrades are subtle but that’s okay, the current X5 is a great-looking car already. Up front, its kidney grille is the same but it gets new, slimmer headlights that have a sportier, more modern look than the current ones. They’re also closer in style to those we saw in recent spy photos of the next-gen 5 Series.
Out back, the quad tailpipes give away its M Performance nature, as all M Performance cars moving forward will share the M Divsion’s quad exhaust look. Being an M Performance model, the new X5 M60i will gain the same new S68 V8 engine as the newly released X7 M60i and 760i.
The new S68 engine is still a 4.4 liter twin-turbocharged V8 but its displacement and layout are the only two carryovers from the previous N63 engine (we have an entire write-up on what’s new and different about the S68, so if you want to get into the gritty tech details, you can check that out). While we don’t know officially what sort of power the X5 M60i will make, it’s pretty likely that it will make the same 523 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque as the X7 M60i.
Previous spy photos of the X5 LCI have also shown it to have the same new curved iDrive 8 screen as the X7, as well as its new digital gauge setup and center console. So expect a ton of other similarities between the two cars when the X5 LCI finally debuts. And when it does, an already excellent car will be made even better.
[Source: Motor.es]
