Bmw x5 le mans concept

2001 BMW X5 Le Mans Concept Had the V-12 Heart of a McLaren F1

From the Archive: For giggles, BMW engineers fitted an X5 with the 700-hp V-12 from the McLaren F1 racer and flogged it on the Nürburgring. We went for a ride.

From the January 2001 issue of Car and Driver.

At Schwalbenschwanz, a horseshoe-shaped left-hander on the Nürburgring Nordschleife, probably named for a machine that suctions vomit off upholstery, it begins to rain. Hans Stuck just stomps the accelerator.

Speedy SUVs

BMW has hired the stringy-haired, perpetually smiling German hotshoe to ferry writers around the 12.9-mile, 73-turn Nordschleife in a one-of-a-kind X5 sport-ute fitted with a V-12 engine from one of BMW’s Le Mans-winning sports-prototype cars. Stuck, 50, himself a two-time winner at the Circuit de la Sarthe and a starter in 74 Grands Prix, is determined to hit 170 mph on the Nordschleife’s looming straightaway, rain be damned. With the engine shrieking at 8000 rpm in fifth gear, Stuck calmly points to the speedometer and says, «Look—170, ja?»

Ja, indeed. The X5 LM ranks right up there with the ill-considered purchase of Rover as evidence that the boys in Bavaria have gone completely meshuga. Last spring, they plucked an X5 off the South Carolina assembly line and brought it back to the mothership in Munich. A 15-member surgical team was waiting there with one of BMW’s cast-alloy, 6.0-liter V-12s selected from the stable of engines used to assault and conquer the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans.

«We wanted to find out what the absolute limitations are of the basic X5.» Project Leader, Edward Walek.

The compact 60-degree DOHC unit is narrower and shorter than the X5’s stock 4.4-liter, 90-degree V-8, so it settled in without much persuasion. However, the V-12 weighs 176 more pounds than the V-8. It also needs 50 percent more cooling area, so the surgeons cut gaping holes in the bumper and hood to move cold air in and hot air out. Pending news that oxides of nitrogen are actually good for us, the exhaust is pure, untreated toxins.

It could have been worse. The original plan was to shove in a V-10 from Ralf Schumacher’s Williams-BMW Formula 1 car. But none of BMW’s conventional transmissions can handle an 18,000-rpm redline, and X5 project leader Edward Walek wanted to keep the driveline and body as close to stock as possible.

The horribly mutated X5 LM is capable of reaching 186 mph, owing to a V-12 that makes 700 hp at 8000 rpm.

«We wanted to find out what the absolute limitations are of the basic X5,» Walek says. The other reason: Get people accustomed to the idea of a BMW super-ute. BMW will begin building a hot version of the 4900-pound X5 within 18 months. Prototypes dubbed «X5 HP» were on hand at the Nordschleife featuring the BMW V-8 bored and stroked a few millimeters to 4.6 liters and mated to a recalibrated General Motors five-speed automatic. A short test drive on public roads revealed some electrifying thrust from the 350-hp V-8. Expect runs to 60 mph in less than six seconds and a top speed of about 150 mph.

Meanwhile, the horribly mutated X5 LM is capable of reaching 186 mph, owing to a V-12 that makes 700 horsepower at 8000 rpm. That’s about 200 more horses than the Le Mans car, because the X5 breathes through twin 80-millimeter conduits. (At Le Mans, the engines were restricted to 32-mm apertures.) The power is transmitted via a twin-plate racing clutch to a ZF six-speed manual from an old 8-series coupe. The gearbox is apparently hardy enough to stand up to the engine’s 531 lb-ft of torque, but not in first or second gears, which are only allowed to see part throttle. The stock all-wheel-drive transfer case preserves the X5’s torque split of 38 percent up front and 62 to the rear.

Apart from the engine and transmission, the rest of the X5 LM is largely stock. It squats lower by 1.9 inches in the front and 1.6 inches in the rear, sports firmer springs and bushings, and wears 20-inch wheels veneered with Euro-market 275/35ZR-20 Michelin tires in the front, 315/35ZR-20s behind. ABS is gone, as is the hill-descent feature used to give ordinary X5s a dram of off-road capability.

Fitted with slicks, the X5 LM did lap the Nordschleife in a blistering eight minutes, five seconds—15 seconds faster than the factory’s Z8 roadster. On this soggy day, however, Stuck was sandbagging to preserve the car for all 14 scheduled laps (the last time this was tried, the X5 blew up after only two). He kept the rampant understeer in check by expertly playing the throttle and steering wheel against each other with insect-quick movements, and a few sideways slides kept the adrenaline flowing for his passenger. After 14 laps, the X5 was still running. And they didn’t even need a Schwalbenschwanz.

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BMW X5 Le Mans Concept Brings V12 Engine To Bratislava Museum

BMW has made some wild concepts over the years, but few have been as interesting as the X5 Le Mans. Proving even an SUV can be thrilling, the M division crammed a twelve-cylinder engine borrowed from the V12 LMR into the E53. It happened back in 2000, a year after the endurance race car triumphed at Le Mans.

BMW Group Classic has the one-of-a-kind SUV temporarily on display in Slovakia at the Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum. You can check out the high-performance SUV and its four bucket seats until Sunday, June 25.

One of the reasons why the X5 Le Mans was so special is because it outpunched the race car as the M division unlocked the V12’s full potential. The massive 6.1-liter unit had over 700 horsepower whereas in the V12 LMR, it was dialed down to approximately 580 hp since it had to abide by certain racing regulations. With a massive 720 Newton-meters (531 pound-feet) of torque, the unique E53 hit 62 mph (100 km/h) in 4.7 seconds.

Some 23 years later, it’s still one of the fastest SUVs in the world. Racing driver Hans-Joachim Stuck managed to reach 193 mph (311 km/h) with the X5 Le Mans concept in a lightweight two-seat configuration. It’s truly a sight to behold, not just for its mighty engine, but also thanks to the exclusive 20-inch BBS LM wheels with massive 315/35 front and rear tires. Despite the huge engine, it had a near-perfect weight distribution of 51% front and 49% rear. Oh, we mustn’t omit power was routed to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox.

Even just by looking at the hood, you can’t tell this isn’t an ordinary first-generation X5. Made from laminated carbon fiber, the bonnet as the British say had a massive opening necessary to cool the engine. The M division also widened the speedy SUV and brought it closer to the road by 30 millimeters (1.18 inches) to improve handling and give it a meaner stance in the process.

In 2022, BMW waved goodbye to the V12 by killing the M760i as stricter emissions regulations are accelerating the downsizing process. Your only chance to get a V12 from the BMW Group is by stepping up to a Rolls-Royce, but even the ultra-luxury brand will retire the powerhouse by 2030 when it’ll go purely electric.

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Концепт BMW X5 Le Mans с двигателем V12 в музее Братиславы

За прошедшие годы BMW создала несколько необычных концептов, но немногие из них были столь же интересны, как X5 Le Mans. В 2000 году подразделение M установило на E53 двенадцатицилиндровый двигатель, позаимствованный у V12 LMR — триумфального болида, который учавствовал в гонках на выносливость в Ле-Мане.

Единственный в своем роде внедорожник BMW Group Classic временно выставлен в Словакии в художественном музее Данубиана Меуленштин.

Одна из причин, почему X5 Le Mans считается особенным, заключается в том, что он обогнал гоночный автомобиль, поскольку подразделение M раскрыло весь потенциал V12. Массивный 6,1-литровый двигатель развивал более 700 л.с., тогда как в V12 LMR его мощность была снижена примерно до 580 л.с., поскольку он должен был соответствовать определенным гоночным правилам. С огромным крутящим моментом в 720 Нм уникальный E53 разгонялся до 100 км/ч за 4,7 секунды.

Прошло около 23 лет, а X5 Le Mans остается одним из самых быстрых внедорожников в мире. Автогонщику Хансу-Йоахиму Штуку удалось разогнаться до 311 км/ч на X5 Le Mans concept в облегченной двухместной конфигурации. Это поистине впечатляющее зрелище не только из-за мощного двигателя, но и благодаря эксклюзивным 20ʺ колесным дискам BBS LM с массивными передними и задними шинами 315/35. Несмотря на огромный двигатель, у него было почти идеальное распределение веса — 51% спереди и 49% сзади. Мощность передается на задние колеса через шестиступенчатую механическую коробку передач.

При первом взгляде на капот, нельзя сказать, что это не обычный X5 первого поколения. Сделанный из ламинированного углеродного волокна, в капоте размещается массивное отверстие, необходимое для охлаждения двигателя. Мастера подразделения М расширили скоростной внедорожник и приблизило его к дороге на 30 миллиметров, чтобы улучшить управляемость и придать ему более устойчивый вид.

В 2022 году BMW попрощалась с V12, отказавшись от M760i, поскольку ужесточение правил по выбросам ускоряет процесс сокращения. Еединственный шанс получить V12 от BMW Group — это перейти на Rolls-Royce, но даже этот бренд откажется от ДВС к 2030 году, когда перейдет на электрический двигатель.

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BMW Shows The X5 Le Mans Concept And Its V12 Engine With 700+ HP

The one-off SUV had the same engine used by the Le Mans-winning McLaren F1 race car.

Born in an era when engineers had more freedom to have fun with engines, the one-off X5 Le Mans concept was hands down one of the coolest SUVs ever. Two decades later, it’s still a fascinating machine, equipped with a naturally aspirated V12 engine shared with the iconic McLaren F1. BMW is now looking back at the high-performance unique build created nearly a decade before the original X5 M.

The reason why it’s called «Le Mans» has to do with the 6.1-liter powerplant borrowed from the race car version of the McLaren F1, which triumphed at the grueling 24-hour endurance race in 1995. Interestingly, the engine used in the X5 Le Mans actually had more power since BMW didn’t have to bother with restrictions to meet regulations.

Gallery: 2000 BMW X5 Le Mans concept

Consequently, it produced over 700 horsepower (+120 hp more than the race-spec F1) after getting rid of the air restrictors and fitting a custom exhaust system. With a mountain-moving torque of 531 pound-feet (700 Newton-meters), this X5 was a force to be reckoned with. It hit 62 mph (100 km/h) in 4.7 seconds and reached 193 mph (311 km/h) on the Döttinger Höhe section of the Nürburgring, which is not too shabby for an SUV that weighed over two tons and had brick-like aerodynamics.

Speaking of the Green Hell, it lapped the challenging German race track in 7 minutes and 49 seconds, which makes it only seven seconds slower than the current titleholder, the Audi RS Q8. This bonkers X5 Le Mans is likely the closest we’ll ever get to a McLaren SUV as the peeps from Woking insist they won’t develop a sports utility vehicle.

When A Big And Heavy SUV Has Something In Common With A Lightweight Supercar:

But there’s more to the Le Mans concept than its engine (also used by the V12 LMR prototype) as the one-off was rear-wheel drive and came with a six-speed manual transmission. Those BBS gold wheels were also neat, and we could say the same thing about the center-mounted exhaust and the bucket seats inside. Even though it had a massive engine at the front, the weight distribution was nearly perfect, at 51:49 front/rear.

Oh, and that sound it makes is absolutely evil.

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