Guys, I'd like to correct an earlier post I made saying that I didn't think there would be an M version of the X5 due to its higher center of gravity, more tendency for body roll, and more intended use for bad weather than other BMW's. Well, my prediction was apparantly wrong.....one passed me on the road yesterday morning. ...a nice candy-apple-red color. There was no mistaking the tricolor " M " badge in the rear, over the X5 logo. I knew the moment I saw it I'd have to post a correction, so here you are.

 

are you sure it wasn't just a badger? I haven't heard anything about an MX5

 

Yep, most likely.

 

Too bad there are badgers like that around. Saw one right outside the NYC Auto Show in '03.

 

Yes.....the picture you posted is just what I saw....but in red, not white, with the M logo. Perhaps you're right.....I forgot there are some people out there who try and disguise their cars to make them look like what they are not.

 

Thanks for pointing that out, guys...it may have been a badger. Maybe I was right in the first place....I really was skeptical of a true " M " X5 for the reasons I stated in my first post.

 

wouldnt be able to use that name without the permission of Mazda. As Mazda made an MX5, which is also known as the Miata. i doubt they would ever make a M version of the x5, seems to me that BMW is going to stuff the biggest hand built engine they can, beef up the suspension, and make it look ultra tight. Hence you have the new X5 4.8 with a hand built block. But i would LOVE to see a x5 M'ed out. an smg with the 8 cyl.... delicious.

Really if you think about it, they cant use the typical M method of naming the car. They cant use mx5 because of mazda, so that kills the MX because mazda made the Mx6 as well and i believe still owns the rights to that title, they cant name it the XM because of the radio company. There are a few options i could think of though. x5M, or the m5-x... really there isnt a way for them to incorparate the M title to the X5 name, but im pretty sure that if they wanted it bad enough, theyll pay someone to think of a way!

 

LOL. A MX5. Where's Jimmy when you really need him.........

 

There is the X5 Lemans with a Formula 1 engine. There is a german language video of it somewhere. That thing was nuts. Cayenne Turbo is nothing compared to that

 

heh Glad you guys are enjoying my joke!

Badgers are the best... that stock single exhaust 330i w/ M badges, that just makes my day.

What'd be even better would be someone who removes the X5 badge and puts an M5 badge in its place

 

Ya, there's definately no M series X5.

You would think BMW drivers would be a little more tasteful than Civic tuners - I guess not.

I've even seen stock 318's, 325's with an M badge slapped on it as well.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Stage3
[B]wouldnt be able to use that name without the permission of Mazda. As Mazda made an MX5, which is also known as the Miata. ]

Yes, I had already thought of that. Probably the most likely logo would have been XM5.

 

Here's a pic of the hi-po X5 I took when it was first being rolled out in 2002 at a car show in Columbus, OH. Note there is no 'M'blem on this one

 

Dave......That's just about the same color as the one that passed me Sunday wih the "M" badge on it.
Looks like I really opened up Pandora's box on this thread......to M or not to M?
Well, look at my initials.....MM.

 

There was a big debate about this very topic in the pages of the Roundel, the BMW CCA magazine, back when the X5 first came out. They did talk about Mazda owning the trademark to "MX5" and also the very things you mentioned--that a big, heavy, high COG vehicle really didn't fit the M concept. Hence we got the 4.6is and now 4.8is. The "s" stands for "sport" and is their compromise solution to the Bimmer enthusiast demand for high-performance vehicles (even in an SUV) without becoming a laughingstock for sticking an M badge on the thing. Kind of like those posers are who stuck the M badge on obviously non-M X5s...