BMW fires up X5 and X6 M

BMW has announced dark-themed Black Fire Edition versions of its X5 and X6 M performance SUVs for the European market, but they are likely to make their way Down Under if BMW Australia has its way.

The German car-maker’s local arm is assessing the sinister pair for an Australian launch, with a company spokesperson saying: “We are interested, of course, and will confirm once we have made a decision on allocation (if any).”BMW says the X5 and X6 M Black Fire Editions will be available in Europe starting from August, meaning if they get the green light for Australia, they could hit our shores in the third of fourth quarter.

Unsurprisingly, the big SUVs gain a number of black styling flourishes, including Sapphire Black Metallic paint, black M double kidney bars, carbon mirror caps and 21-inch forged M black alloy wheels.

Inside, the Black Fire Editions feature electric multifunction M seats with full fine-grain Merino leather in contrasting black and ‘Mugello Red’, which is also applied to the panels on the doors, centre console and dash.

It also gains an anthracite headliner, piano black finish trim, M Edition Black Fire logos on the passenger side interior, and the option of either the multifunction M leather steering wheel or an M Performance Alcantara steering wheel with a blue leather accent.

The special editions are based on the M versions of the X5 and X6, which use a 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 petrol engine pumping out 423kW and 750Nm between 2200 and 5000rpm, ensuring a zero to 100km/h sprint time of 4.2 seconds.

They are matched with an eight-speed M Steptronic automatic transmission, and are fitted with the xDrive all-wheel-drive system, but BMW says it has a rear-drive bias.

Fuel consumption is listed as 11.1 litres per 100km on the combined cycle and they emit 258g/km of CO2.

X5 sales have fallen by 20.5 per cent to the end of May this year, but it remains the top seller in the premium large SUV segment with 1475 sales, followed by the Range Rover Sport (1371), Audi Q7 (1152) and the Mercedes-Benz GLE (965).

Meanwhile, sales of the swoopy X6 have dropped by 31.6 per cent so far this year with 201 sales and it is now trailing its Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe rival, which has found 346 homes.