- LCI for the performance SUVs

- M60i might join the line-up

BMW is out testing the updated versions of the X5 M and X6 at the Nurburgring. The pair will receive their first cosmetic update since their introduction. Apart from the design changes, it is expected that BMW will be adding a new hybrid powertrain to the line-up.

Both the X5 M and X6 M prototypes wore scanty camouflage fore and aft. But the prominently reshaped bumpers, quad exhaust tips, tweaked kidney grille, aggressive diffusers, and the tweaked headlamp and tail lamp designs are hard to miss. Some parts of this LCI update on these high-performance SUVs will also be seen on the standard X5 and X6.

As for the powertrain, the 4.4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 will be carried over in both, but with a slightly bumped-up output. With close to 600bhp of power in the non-Competition guise, the X5 M and X6 M will be one of the most powerful SUVs in the world.

But there are rumours of an M60i hybrid powertrain in work which will be offered in both these X models. This will be a 48Volt mild-hybrid which is expected to offer around 530bhp and will be paired to an eight-speed automatic gearbox. Meanwhile, a full-fledged PHEV M model will arrive from the next-gen M5.

The current-gen X5 and X6 are almost half a decade old. So the mid-life update for the pair with this M version will be the last before the newer generations arrive. We expect the X5 M and X6 M to arrive before the end of this year as part of the 50th-anniversary celebration of the M Division.

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