BMW releases official X5 M video

By Ben Pulman

23 December 2008 10:00

BMW clearly thinks the time is right to release an official video of the X5 M testing at the Nurburgring. It’s the car, along with the X6 M, that’s caused BMW to can the M3 CSL – and risk alienating a generation of M division fans.

So we get this BMW X5 M instead of a CSL?

Afraid so. M Division’s old boss Gerhard Richter once told CAR that the company would only produce high-revving, naturally aspirated engines powering rear-wheel drive cars. Go-faster SUVs simply weren't on the agenda.

Richter is no longer M Division boss, however. He was replaced by Ludwig Willisch, who has cancelled the CSL and approved cars like the X5 and X6 M. According to Willisch, there just won’t be enough demand for a stripped-out M3.

Instead we get an X5 with a 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 and around 500bhp. See the car in action in BMW's teaser video below, and watch the introduction carefully – it features lots of M Division’s rear-wheel drive cars in action. We feel like shedding a tear.