BMW E53 X5 Le Mans
PUTTING THE ‘X’ IN BMW! Just over two decades ago, BMW introduced their first 4x4 off-roader to the model range, the X5. Hated by purists, who thought every BMW should be a saloon or coupe with power fed to the rear wheels, BMW went on a charm offensive to convince the doubters that the X5 was just what the BMW range, and more importantly, the market, needed, especially in the USA. As part of this offensive M Power were asked to come up with a hot X5 that could lap the Nurburgring faster than any of their road cars could at the time, to show the purists that a large 4x4 can ‘go’ just as well as any other BMW. The M engineers decided to shoehorn in a 700bhp version of the S70/3 V12 engine which had taken the V12 LMR sportscar to victory at Le Mans in 1999, before handing the keys to a certain Hans Stuck, who tore up the ‘ring in the V12 X5 in 2000 – here is the full story… Words - Jeff Heywood / Photographs - BMW Press www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
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MW launched the X5 to a worldwide audience in 1999. It was their first Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV), featuring allwheel drive and available with either manual or auto gearboxes. Right from launch, BMW’s marketing team branded the X5 a Sport Activity Vehicle rather than an SUV, to emphasize its onroad ability, despite its size. The X5 heralded the shift from light truck-based body-on-frame SUVs to crossovers underpinned by unibody car platforms. The X5 shared its underpinnings with the E39 5 Series, and BMW developed the X5 whilst owning Land Rover, benefitting from Land Rover’s off-road BMW Car Club Magazine August 2020
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