X5 4.6is
Here's the back end of the new 4.6is. Nice big exhaust tips stick out from the resculpted rear diffuser. I like that color too.
The Controversy
The concept X Coupe that stirred opinions world wide was at the NYIAS. The press releases call it an "automotive iconoclast," that "does not shy away from paradoxes or contradictions: a coupe that can go off-road...a sport coupe with a diesel engine...asymmetries on its exterior and in its interior...surfaces that turn in on themselves, or can change their shape..." Well okay. It's different, that's for sure. Klaus Schitzner didn't like it. I think it shows off some interesting mechanical points, but the design doesn't need to find it's way into the lineup as it is right now. It's powered by the 3.0 liter 184 horsepower turbodiesel engine with a 5-speed StepTronic shifted from the steering wheel paddles. That engine is in production, and the paddles are going to be on the SMG II on the new M3. Good application of concepts. It usese the X5's all wheel drive system, and accompanying list of traction control devices. The body is aluminum, as is the M3, and the headlights turn with the wheels so you can light your path. That's an old device that used to be found on army vehicles, pre-Hummer, pre-Jeep. New brake lights are incorporated, which have different levels of intensity, depending on the amount of braking perssure applied. Some of these technologies are being used, some could be used in teh future. Just not the design...yet anyways...
Inside the X Coupe
That must be some type of futureistic cloth, or maybe it's just suade. The X Coupe uses BMW's iDrive system, which brings all of the computer functions together into one small control device. That will be found in the new 7 series, due out next year. NYIAS Page 12
