We all knew this was coming. After all, BMW warned us the XM would be its heaviest production car ever if we exclude specialty models like the armored X5 and 7 Series. Earlier this year, 7 Series G70 project manager Christoph Fagschlunger said the plug-in hybrid SUV would go down in history as the heaviest vehicle BMW will ever make. A subsequent report from German magazine Auto Bild put the XM’s curb weight at around 2,700 kilograms (5,952 pounds). Well, you’d better sit down for this one because the final numbers are in.
In North American specification, the XM crosses the 6,000-pound mark, weighing in at a colossal 6,062 pounds. That works out to 2,750 kilograms for our metric-loving audience. Because a car’s weight is calculated differently in Europe, the German-market XM tips the scales at a lighter 2,710 kg (5,975 lbs, DIN). If we were to search for a silver lining in all of this, all that heft is distributed in a nearly ideal 50:50 ratio.
The XM is heavier than some other recent BMW mastodonts, including the X5 xDrive45e (2,435 kg / 5,368 lbs), iX M60 (2,584 kg / 5,697 lbs), X7 M60i (2,600 kg / 5,732 lbs), and the i7 xDrive60 (2,640 kg / 5,820 lbs). All weight figures are for the Euro-spec models. Since the XM is the first dedicated M model after the legendary M1, it’s worth pointing out that the large SUV is more than twice as heavy. Coming from a time when safety regluations and sound-deadening materials were not a high priority, the mid-engined coupe weighed only 1,300 kg (2,866 lbs).
Even though SUVs might not be your cup of tea, the hefty curb weight is still particularly worrying because the next-generation M5 has already been confirmed with the same plug-in hybrid setup. The current-generation super sedan in its lightest form, the CS, stands at 1,825 kg (4,023 lbs) in Euro specification. Its electrified successor is likely to put on some weight by switching to the S68 engine with an electric motor and a battery pack.
The rumored M5 Touring will be slightly heavier, but that’s…
