We can't think of a more photographed prototype in recent memory than the 2007 BMW X5. The first spy photos and video came from somewhere in the cold of the Arctic Circle, then it was the high-speed twists and turns of the Nürburgring. Now our latest round of spy shots captures the new luxury SUV in the heat of Death Valley during its final round of shakedown tests before its fall debut.
As we saw in the first round of photos, the new BMW X5 won't look much different from the current model. There's a new design for the headlights, revised air intakes and new wheel designs. The rear end gets minor changes, too, despite the confusing look of the heavily taped-up prototype.
None of these photos confirm whether the X5 will have the often rumored third-row seat. Although this prototype does appear slightly longer than the current X5, it hardly looks long enough to accommodate another seat behind the second row. BMW officials have already said publicly that they are working on a "space concept" vehicle similar to the Mercedes-Benz R-Class, so it wouldn't seem necessary to turn the X5 into a seven-passenger vehicle.
One feature BMW isn't backing off on is the use of iDrive. Up until now, the X5 and the Z4 were the only BMW models without the central control system, but it's plain to see in our first ever interior shot that iDrive is alive and well in the X5. Even more interesting is the new transmission shifter sitting beside it. It looks more like a larger version of the small up/down stick used with BMW's SMG transmission, but the use of an SMG setup is doubtful. We expect this new setup is nothing more than a space-saving design that does away with the need for a long transmission tunnel.
Top-of-the-line X5s will most probably show up with BMW's latest 360-horsepower, 4.8-liter V8 under the hood, while base models will likely get the company's 255-hp, 3.0-liter straight six. Power will be delivered to all four wheels through the latest version of BMW's xDrive system.
As we saw in the first round of photos, the new BMW X5 won't look much different from the current model. There's a new design for the headlights, revised air intakes and new wheel designs. The rear end gets minor changes, too, despite the confusing look of the heavily taped-up prototype.
None of these photos confirm whether the X5 will have the often rumored third-row seat. Although this prototype does appear slightly longer than the current X5, it hardly looks long enough to accommodate another seat behind the second row. BMW officials have already said publicly that they are working on a "space concept" vehicle similar to the Mercedes-Benz R-Class, so it wouldn't seem necessary to turn the X5 into a seven-passenger vehicle.
One feature BMW isn't backing off on is the use of iDrive. Up until now, the X5 and the Z4 were the only BMW models without the central control system, but it's plain to see in our first ever interior shot that iDrive is alive and well in the X5. Even more interesting is the new transmission shifter sitting beside it. It looks more like a larger version of the small up/down stick used with BMW's SMG transmission, but the use of an SMG setup is doubtful. We expect this new setup is nothing more than a space-saving design that does away with the need for a long transmission tunnel.
Top-of-the-line X5s will most probably show up with BMW's latest 360-horsepower, 4.8-liter V8 under the hood, while base models will likely get the company's 255-hp, 3.0-liter straight six. Power will be delivered to all four wheels through the latest version of BMW's xDrive system.
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