BMW X6 M Competition Fast Fleet test – living with the 616bhp V8 SUV

You could never accuse evo of not being thorough. After the flurry of M2s, 3s, 4s and 5s that have been through the Fast Fleet garage over the last half a decade, the time has come to sample one of BMW M’s more controversial creations, the X6 M Competition. An M2 CS it is not. But is it a true M car?

evo’s exposure to the X6 M has been limited to, well, very little. We’ve spent time sprinting across Europe in its ‘sensible’ cousin, the X5 M Competition (189mph three-up and with a boot full of photography gear was impressive), but next to no time with its coupe relative beyond this exact example stopping by for an evo.co.uk review following the model’s mid-term facelift. We thought it was broken, and returned it to BMW suggesting such; they took a look and gave it a clean bill of health.

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Our concern? The ride quality and body control. We didn’t expect 7-series levels of pillowiness, but the X6 M demonstrated a level of jarring ride some of us hadn’t experienced since our days of cutting the springs on a Mk4 Escort with an angle grinder. But this was the factory set-up. Some experiments with tyre pressures and a trip to a wheel alignment specialist are first on the to-do list to see if improvements can be found.

The improvements BMW M made to the X6 during its facelift were substantial to say the least. Out went the old S63 4.4-litre hot-vee turbocharged V8 and in came the S68, which looks suspiciously like its predecessor: 4.4 litres, hot-vee configuration for the pair of turbochargers, same 616bhp and 553lb ft of torque. Now, however, there’s a 12bhp, 147lb ft mild-hybrid electric motor within the gearbox. This is not a performance enhancement, rather it’s been developed to smooth out the X6’s powertrain (assisting the stop/start and providing some torque assistance when pulling away in a higher gear, for example). There’s also a higher compression ratio (up from 10:1 to 10.5:1), a stronger crankshaft and improvements to the oil sump baffling to prevent oil starvation, and there’s a new electronically controlled blow-off valve and new cats, too.

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In terms of the gearbox, that too has had some hardware changes, most noticeably shorter second- and third-gear ratios (there are eight in total), presumably to help the 2370kg beast get off the line more swiftly. It’s certainly going to be intriguing to get to know and understand any benefits this updated powertrain delivers.

Along with its new exterior design, with a front end inspired by, or rather in line with, the XM’s, providing the X6 M Comp with an over-the-top level of aggression, the interior received the full BMW makeover. This includes the fitment of two screens: one for the instruments, the other for the HMI controls. The former means there are no traditional round instrument dials and nor is there any option to configure them as such, which still feels like a huge oversight with technology that’s perfect for such applications. Not that I’m advocating an X6 M should be able to replicate the instrument cluster of a 2002 Turbo; that would be on a par with Renault allowing your Clio to sound like Prost’s turbo F1 car.

Under the X6’s body is a further adaptation of BMW’s CLAR platform, albeit based on a rather earlier iteration, resulting in what many today consider an old-school chassis approach. There are double wishbones at the front, a multi-link set-up at the rear, with coil springs, active dampers and active anti-roll bars. Air suspension, while available on other X6 models, isn’t offered on the M. There is also no rear-axle steering available, although the rear suspension has gained some toe-in over its predecessor for improved high-speed stability, and there’s further chassis strengthening throughout. This would normally allow for the spring and damper rates to be wound back, but it doesn’t feel like that has happened in this case.

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Carbon-ceramics aren’t an option, which could leave the cast-iron rotors getting quite a workout. If the amount of brake dust that appears to be a permanent fixture on the 21-inch front wheels (22s are fitted to the rear) is anything to go by, they are already feeling the pressure.

The first couple of thousand miles have highlighted that the X6 M Competition, all £131,405 of it(!), is no subtle device. In some respects it’s more hardcore than an M5 CS, with a powertrain that feels permanently on edge and a chassis that’s permanently locked down. For a powertrain with such high levels of torque available it does enjoy changing down two, sometimes three gears at motorway speeds when you just want to add 5mph to your cruise. Which isn’t infuriating at all.

So far it drives like it looks. Hopefully there are some hidden depths to be found when we get more exposure to what lies beneath.

    This story was first featured in evo issue 325.