These days, it seems like the term polarizing is constantly popping up when talking about new BMWs. With its bronze trim, complex front fascia, and supersized proportions, the new XM certainly fits that definition. It's a three-ton, high-performance SUV, but perhaps it should've been a pickup truck.
A new rendering from X-Tomi Design offers a taste of how such a thing might look. And you know what? It's not terrible. Full-size pickup trucks have certainly grown over the years, both in capability and over-the-top designs with massive grilles and chiseled faces. The BMW XM shares the same wheelbase as the company's three-row X7 SUV, so it's not small. And judging by the 70-plus comments on our BMW XM debut post, most Motor1 readers are not exactly fond of how it looks. That's putting it mildly, too.
This rendering doesn't change anything up front, but the bulky backside is obviously removed in favor of a rather basic pickup bed. The bronze trim is still there, and the front fascia is as busy as it ever was. We've all grown accustomed to larger-than-life pickup trucks, and in the United States, they are as popular as ever. Perhaps that's why this rendering is so interesting. As a bulky SUV, the XM seems to have few fans when it comes to styling. But does it look better as a pickup truck?
It would certainly be a lively hauler. The XM is the first standalone M vehicle since the M1, and that's not a subject BMW takes lightly. There's a twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 under the hood making 483 horsepower, but it's not working alone. This is a plug-in hybrid, featuring an electric motor integrated with the transmission for an additional 194 hp. All total, the XM generates 644 hp and 590 pound-feet of torque, and it claws at the ground with all-wheel drive. An upgraded Label Red edition due next year ups the ante to 735 hp. That would make for one mean pickup truck.
Of course, this is just a fictional flight of fancy, albeit an interesting one. Does the XM really look better as a pickup truck? Let us know your take in the comments, and check out more BMW chat in the Rambling About Cars podcast.
