Still-Camo’d BMW XM Prototype Pretends We Haven’t All Seen The Leaked Patent Drawings

Leaked patent drawings of BMW’s XM muscle SUV hit the web last week giving us a clear idea about how much the production car will differ from 2021’s Concept XM. But it’s business as usual for BMW’s R&D team, who are still keeping the camo firmly attached to their prototypes ahead of this fall’s official reveal.

Later prototypes like the one seen here aren’t covered in boxy disguise like the earlier ones, and instead rely on a simple wrap to obscure the XM’s lines and design details. But together with the leaked patent drawings, the details we can see help us build a picture of what’s underneath those crazy squiggles.

Key design elements carried over from the concept include vertically stacked exhaust tailpipes, a split-headlight arrangement, the unusual swage line running through the doors and rising up the rear quarter to echo the famous Hofmeister kink in the window-line, and a double-kidney grille with horizontal slats that’s incredibly wide, but not actually that tall compared to the ones we’ve seen on the M3 and M4.

Notable features that didn’t make it past the concept stage are door handles flush-mounted into that horizontal swage line running through the doors, and the show car’s striking rear lights. On the concept the rear lights moved horizontally across the rear hatch, rose slightly as they hit the rear quarter, then dropped in a vertical line towards the back of the rear wheel. Unfortunately the production car’s lights dispense with the vertical element, though a reflector in the rear bumper tries in vain to mimic the look.

BMW’s first standalone M model since the mid-engined M1 supercar will be built at the company’s Spartanburg, South Carolina, plant, and arrive in showrooms at the end of this year. Those first cars will be powered by hybridized 4.4-liter V8 developing 644 hp (653 PS) and 590 lb-ft (800 Nm) of torque, but hot on its heels will be an even more powerful version producing 738 hp (550 kW / 748 PS) and 737 lb-ft (1,000 Nm) of torque.

But this being a hybrid, power figures aren’t the only important stats. BMW says the XM will provide 50 miles (80 km) of EV range on the WLTP cycle and 30 miles (48 km) on the EPA cycle.

Images: Andreas Mau/CarPix