Here we have special editions of BMW’s two big, fast SUVs—the X5M and the X6M. They’re called ‘Black Fire’, and they are very black indeed. Both get special Sapphire Black Metallic paintwork, black kidney grilles, black-painted 21-inch forged alloy wheels, and carbon-fiber mirror caps. Inside you get two-tone red/black leather, and can option an Alcantara wheel. The overall effect is, erm, dark. And quite murderous.
BMW says “black is powerful, black is exciting, and black is exclusive” and that the same can be said of these special editions. It’s right about the power thing—there are no mechanical changes over a standard X5M or X6M, which means 567hp from the 4.4-liter V8. 0-100kph happens in 4.2 seconds thanks to rear-biased xDrive AWD and the eight-speed automatic gearbox.
Exciting? You could argue that any car with 567hp is exciting, so we’ll give BMW that one too. But exclusive? No. Black is a popular color for premium cars, and Rolls-Royce and Porsche have released their own takes of this dark theme as well.
Available from August, but we don’t know when they'll arrive, how much they’ll cost, or how many BMW will make.
Do you like yours black?
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
