BMW X6 'Concept' unveiled at Frankfurt

The Frankfurt International Auto Show finally got underway yesterday in Germany and there was no disappointment in the quantity of new products and concepts. I am but a lowly blogger and cannot even fathom being able to comment about everything that's coming out of the show (this isn't my job unfortunately), but I will do my best to show you my favorites.

Camouflaged prototypes of BMW's X6 have been the darlings of auto-spy photographers in recent months and we finally get to see it in its final form, mostly. BMW loves to show off cars they label as Concepts, when in reality the production version is 100% finished. They make the wheels a little different, a little shinier perhaps; fit fancier exhaust pipes and/or head and taillights... but it's 99.99% what they'll unveil very soon after as the production model. They did it with the E46 M3, the E90 M5, E92 M3, and it's exactly what they've done here. It just seems like a waste of energy on their part. Between here and the dealerhship, I foresee the X6's wheels changing ever so slightly, and the exhaust exits to lose a bit of their sparkle and melt into a more conventional shape.

Although this thing exists only to make money (not to refine the illustrious pedigree of BMW), I do think I like it. The X5 was always near the top of my list of ownable SUVs and though this is mostly just a less practical version for surely more money, it would look awful nice in my post lotto-victory 30-car garage serving as a foul-weather people-mover.

Engine choices are more interesting the those of the current X5 with the mouthwatering 3.0L Twin Turbo 6-cylinder at the bottom end, and talk of a new 4.8L Twin Turbo V8 at the top. An engine that's supposedly been under development for the next generation 7-Series.

I'm sure they'll sell every one of these they intend to... just not to me unfortunately.

[Source: Autoblog, NetCarshow]