BMW CONCEPT X6 WITH ACTIVEHYBRID
13 September 2007 - BMW

The new BMW Concept X6 plays host to a plethora of world firsts

The world’s first Sports Activity Coupé, the first car with BMW ActiveHybrid technology and the first car to be fitted with Dynamic Performance Control.

Twinned with BMW’s benchmark xDrive four-wheel drive system, Dynamic Performance Control spreads drive forces as required in all situations, feeding a varying degree of power when required to the two wheels at the rear.

Dynamic Performance Control is the only system of its kind in the world able to provide its stabilising effect both under power and with the engine on overrun. As soon as the system detects possible over- or understeer of the vehicle, for example in a bend, it will vary the distribution of drive forces between the wheels for perfect stability, dynamic traction, and forward motion. This is achieved by transferring additional wheel speed to the outer rear wheel to push the car round the corner rather than applying brake force to the inner wheels as currently happens with traditional stability control systems. In the process, Dynamic Performance Control improves driving stability at all speeds, not only ensuring maximum traction when pulling away and precise control when entering a bend, but also higher levels of lateral acceleration and optimum directional stability when accelerating out of the bend.

Sports Activity Coupé design and styling
The BMW Concept X6 is the first car in the world to combine the elegant, flowing lines of a Coupé with the safety and convenience of the command driving position in a 4x4. Unashamedly bold in its styling, the Concept X6 takes a number of classic BMW design cues – kidney grilles, double headlamps, Hofmeister kink – and combines them in a dramatic four-door Coupé form.

From the front, large air intakes positioned on the outer reaches of the front bumper highlight the cooling requirements of the engine and are split horizontally by chrome-coloured bars that incorporate the round fog lamps. The contour of the central air intake, in addition, visually widens the car.

The dual round headlights, with their sharply cut design at the top, express a particularly intense and focused look. As a result, the frontal design of the car appears very focused on the road ahead. The outer contours of the headlights, in turn, extend far into the front wings, making the front overhang visually shorter.

From the side, the unique design and proportions of the Concept X6 are immediately apparent. Its tapering roofline and long rear body overhang give the car a stretched coupé silhouette.

The roofline reaches its highest point directly behind the steering wheel and its shape is complemented by the one-piece chrome window surrounds and the absence of door pillars. On the side panels, a contour line extends from front to rear at the level of the door handles and emphasises the dynamic wedge shape of the car. It is further accentuated by the increasing distance between the shoulder and sill lines towards the rear end extending all the way to the rear lights. A second character line runs parallel to the side-sills, half-way between the contour and the sill-line. This second character line ends at the large, muscular wheel arches that emphasise the car’s robustness.

The exterior mirrors on the BMW Concept X6 are of a similarly innovative design. Made of two pieces with the lower piece finished in body colour, a strip of lights is mounted in between the two pieces. This illumination supplements the corona ring day-running lights, now a trademark of BMW design. The Concept X6 also features uniquely-styled 21-inch Y-spoke alloy wheels that fill the nearly-square profile wheel arches.

http://www.bmwgroup.com

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