What Occurred To The BMW X8?

Earlier than a pandemic introduced the world and the automotive local weather to a standstill, BMW was exhausting at work on a number of new halo merchandise. This was across the time we caught wind of what was known as ‘Challenge Rockstar’ and would finally grow to be the BMW XM. However previous to the XM identify being confirmed, it was believed BMW was additionally engaged on one other halo SUV to be known as the X8.

Even after the XM was confirmed as a pure M SUV, reviews continued to assist the truth that the X8 was within the pipeline. However we’re now a number of years down the street, and the X8 hasn’t materialized… and the unhealthy information is that it isn’t going to. Let’s discover why.

UPDATE 01/31/2024: This text was initially revealed in December 2021 to pay attention all out there data on the BMW X8 in a single useful resource. It has been up to date with the most recent out there data on the X8’s existence and the circumstances that led to the X8 not coming to fruition.

Rumors of the BMW X8 started earlier than the first-ever X7 had even been absolutely revealed, way back to 2017. They began when Autocar requested BMW if there was room for an X8 above the X7 as a extra style-focused different to the incoming sensible three-row SUV. “The sector is rising quick, so there will probably be alternative,” says BMW head of growth, Klaus Fröhlich. “It’s early to speak about X8, however one of many first selections I made after I labored on product technique was to take the X5 and make the X6.”

Fröhlich expanded that he believed there was a spot for the X8: “There’s room for X8 – particularly in markets like China – however there aren’t any selections but. Every automobile will need to have a definite character, and these are the type of areas that take time to guage.”

Subsequent reviews continued to assist the X8’s existence, but it surely wasn’t till 2020 that we started to suspect BMW M involvement within the venture. A trademark submitting in Germany for the BMW X8 M nameplate sparked additional hypothesis that the two-row, coupe-style X8 can be sportier than the X7 it might be based mostly upon, and from there, all the things began snowballing.

Stories of the Challenge Rockstar inside designation constructed up steam, and data started leaking that Challenge Rockstar would sit proper on the prime of the X8 lineup as a full-M model of the X8, replete with a 750-horsepower hybrid model of the M5’s 4.4-liter V8. As we now know, that proved to be a reliable piece of data, and people figures are fairly near what we now have within the XM Label.

The BMW XM first turned a related identify when CarBuzzfound a trademark submitting with the UKIPO for “XM” in 2021, at which level we assumed Challenge Rockstar would drop the X8 nomenclature. A couple of months after that, BMW North America teased the reveal of “an all-new high-powered, hybrid-electric car,” and we had been launched shortly thereafter to the Idea XM – a imaginative and prescient of a bespoke BMW M product for the trendy period, the primary for the reason that iconic M1.

It was greater than only a idea, although, and from the outset, BMW had plans for a manufacturing model.

Positive, the X8 M had a brand new identify, however within the weeks following the reveal of the idea, reviews from Germany indicated BMW nonetheless had plans to promote an SUV marketed because the X8. The X8 was meant to be a toned-down model of the full-fat M SUV with a extra reasonably priced price ticket and lowered efficiency focus. A V8 was nonetheless anticipated, however so was a 3.0-liter inline six.

When you’ve adopted information on the XM, you may do not forget that after the production-spec XM was revealed, BMW sneakily launched a junior model – the XM 50e – powered by a plug-in hybrid inline-six producing peak outputs of 469 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque.

If the BMW XM changed the BMW X8 M, we imagine this XM 50e was meant to be the entry-spec BMW X8. In spite of everything, BMW M’s Frank van Meel had initially mentioned, “We by no means thought-about not utilizing the V8 [for the XM.]”

So why did BMW drop the BMW X8 identify? Because it seems, it has one thing to do with a supercar revival, the market shifting towards high-end SUVs, and a worldwide pandemic.

For years, followers have clamored for a brand new BMW supercar, a real successor to the long-lasting M1. The BMW i8 was visually placing, however its powertrain and efficiency finally upset. However BMW did have a deliberate supercar within the works. Just lately detailed in Steve Saxty’s new ebook trilogyBMW Behind The Scenes, a venture codenamed I16 was set to enter manufacturing because the BMW iM.

The iM was to be impressed by the Imaginative and prescient M NEXT idea, utilizing a revised model of the i8’s carbon composite chassis to accommodate a plug-in hybrid four-cylinder powertrain with as much as 536 hp, however with the potential to accommodate an inline-six, particularly the BMW B58.

Growth was nicely underway, with the design nearly finalized, when a number of market elements conspired in opposition to the iM’s genesis. The market continued to pivot in the direction of high-end SUVs, that means a supercar would all the time be a distinct segment product, and when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, automakers needed to consolidate growth into core fashions that may be assured gross sales successes. In 2020, then head of BMW R&D, Klaus Fröhlich, gathered the crew accountable for venture I16 to inform them the venture had been canned, with BMW shifting focus to the XM.

The timeline above is essential to understanding why the thought of the X8 was dropped, as earlier than 2020, the X8 was alive and nicely. We imagine that BMW had each intention of launching the X8 as a halo luxurious SUV, with the X8 M to be its range-topper. However when the aforementioned stresses pressured BMW to cancel the event of the iM supercar, it was left with an issue: it did not have the M halo it was planning and knew it wanted if it needed to rival the likes of the Audi R8 and Mercedes-AMG GT (and AMG One).

It was at this level that the thought was hatched to mix the 2 halos (SUV and M automobile) into one product. The SUV was the proper match for altering market circumstances, and luxurious items gross sales had been seemingly unaffected by the pandemic, as evidenced by report gross sales years for Bentley, Rolls-Royce, and different ultra-luxury manufacturers.

So BMW M bought out, slapping the M badge on an SUV with no actual sporting intent. The XM was made for appearances. That a lot was confirmed to CarBuzz by present M boss Frank van Meel, who advised us that the ultra-luxury SUV phase was “the zeitgeist phase to enter into.” He claimed there was client demand, citing that “Lots of people who drive a Lamborghini Urus or Mercedes G-Class say, ‘I need to have one thing like that from BMW,’ and so for us, it was the logical selection.”

On the similar occasion, van Meel had waxed lyrical about how each core M product was “developed on the observe for the observe,” but when talking of the XM, van Meel admitted, “You’ll by no means see it on the observe as a result of folks will use it for on a regular basis driving or simply to be seen in that automobile.”

Was there meant to be a BMW X8? Sure, there was. And was there going to be a BMW X8 M? Sure, completely. We’re even of the opinion that even when the X8 M formally turned the XM, lesser variants had been nonetheless going to be badged because the X8, making a distinction between the last word range-topper and extra luxurious derivatives meant to lure patrons out of Vary Rovers and Bentley Bentaygas.

In concept, the X8 does exist. It is simply badged as an M automobile (incorrectly, for my part). However the query nonetheless stays: would BMW construct an precise X8?

The chance nonetheless exists, but it surely hinges in the marketplace reception of the XM, which has to this point been lukewarm. If the XM would not obtain the business success BMW expects, then it might launch the next-gen XM as an X8 as an alternative. We have seen BMW pivot comparable merchandise to have new names previously, just like the 6 Collection that advanced into the brand new 8 Collection to draw a higher-class clientele or the 5 Collection GT that was rebadged as a 6 Collection to distinguish itself from the core 5 Collection.

BMW has by no means publicized meant gross sales targets for its numerous fashions, so we do not know precisely what the automaker had in thoughts for the XM. We do, nonetheless, know that the USA was meant to be the largest marketplace for the XM, adopted by China and the Center East.

Contemplating the XM was a brand new halo for the model and meant to enter new territory, it is curious that BMW’s 2023 international gross sales recap by no means talked about gross sales figures for the XM. Nonetheless, as of September 2023 (three quarters of the 12 months), BMW had bought 4,450 XMs globally. We additionally know that whole US gross sales of the XM in 2023 amounted to simply 2,315 models, of which solely 701 had been bought within the last quarter.

Contemplating BMW M bought 205,530 vehicles for the 12 months, together with junior M Efficiency fashions, it appears the XM is simply making up a fraction of the gross sales volumes it was meant to. Rivals appeared to strongly outsell the XM, with Lamborghini shifting 6,087 Urus SUVs and Bentley promoting simply wanting 6,000 Bentaygas throughout the identical interval. The XM is not what we might name an outright flop, however we’re undecided it has been as profitable as BMW may need hoped, that means an X8 could also be on the horizon.

There’s additional proof within the fantastic particulars. One clear instance is the BMW XM Label Crimson, or . It was initially reported (by way of dependable sources on BMW issues) that BMW was planning “Crimson Label, “Black Label” and XM Competitors variants. The Label Crimson was launched as a range-topper, accompanied by a 500-unit launch version, however after a couple of months, BMW modified its identify merely to the XM Label. Maybe BMW had deliberate a number of ‘label’ editions all alongside, however when gross sales did not go as deliberate, it determined to consolidate them into one variant.