BMW XM was one of the official IMSA vehicles at the 2023 Daytona 24 Hours. A Marina Bay Blue BMW XM served as the Safety Car for the iconic race, while a Cape York Green model was used as an official vehicle during the weekend’s activities. We already featured the Marina Bay Blue Pacecar, but now it’s time to look at the other XM. The power SUV took a place on the start line leading the pack before the green flag.
BMW XM Safety Car
Of course, to serve that role, one car has to be quite powerful and the XM doesn’t disappoint in that department. Under the hood, the XM comes with a brand-new S68 V8 with a familiar 4.4-liter displacement and a pair of turbochargers, as already seen in the X7 M60i and the new 7 Series 760i. In this application, the combustion engine alone is good for 489 horsepower (360 kilowatts). Combined with the electric motor, the total system output is 653 hp (480 kW). According to BMW, the standard XM gets from 0-60 mph in 4.1 seconds (0-62 mph in 4.3 sec) and, while it’s likely to be quicker than that in reality, it’s a little but tough to not be disappointed in that figure.
If that’s not enough, then we might get a chance to see a more powerful XM running up the hill at Pikes Peak. The BMW XM Label Red uses a pumped up version of the same powertrain and it makes a mightily impressive combined 735 horsepower and 735 lb-ft of torque. It makes that total power output by bumping up the engine power to 585 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque.
BMW M4 CSL Safety Car
At Daytona, the XM fleet was joined by another BMW Safety Car – the BMW M4 CSL. It goes without saying this isn’t one of the 1,000 cars BMW is making for customers, so it’s either a prototype or an M4 CSL built specifically to serve as a Safety Car. The M4 CSL ushered on the track in Frozen Brooklyn Grey. In this case, it was combined with International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) branding that goes along quite nicely with the car’s standard red accents of the badges and stripes.
Since we mentioned a couple of colors, the 2024 BMW XM will be available in Toronto Red, Marina Bay Blue, Cape York Green, Sapphire Black, Carbon Black, Mineral White and Dravite Gray. These are all no-cost options. Sao Paulo Yellow and Isle of Man Green will follow in the Summer 2023. A wide range of BMW Individual colors will be available also next year, but only if they are currently available at Plant Spartanburg.
Test drives and reviews of the BMW XM are expected in April 2024. But in the meantime, you can take a look at this Cape York Green BMW XM or at the Mineral White one.
