BMW is refraining from giving the X7 a full-on M makeover, deciding instead to top off the luxury SUV’s lineup with an M Performance version. It used to go by the name of M50i until the Life Cycle Impulse arrived last year with the M60i suffix. One of the company’s first vehicles to feature the newly developed S68 engine, it’s still a twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8 but now with mild hybrid tech and many other changes.

Carwow decided to put the new engine through its paces in a good ol’ acceleration test from 0 to 60 mph. BMW says the X7 M60i takes 4.5 seconds to complete the job, but in reality, it did the sprint in four seconds flat. The German luxury brand has a habit of deliberately underrating the performance delivered by its cars, and the three-row premium SUV is no exception.

A half-a-second difference is significant, especially since the more powerful ALPINA XB7 is only a tenth of a second paper. Well, at least on paper that is. It should be mentioned the 2023 X7 M60i can be even quicker in the right conditions. Car and Driver recently tested the luxobarge and needed only 3.8 seconds to reach 60 mph from a standstill. The journalists haven’t tested the facelifted XB7 yet, but the pre-LCI model took just 3.7 seconds. We expect the S68-powered version to be even quicker.

BMW sells even quicker high-performance SUVs considering the Competition-only 2024 X5 M and X6 M perform the task in 3.7 seconds.  Logic tells us the upcoming $185,000+ XM Label Red with 748 horsepower and a colossal 1,000 Newton-meters (737 pound-feet) of torque should at least match that. The smaller X3 M and X4 M with the optional Competition Package are no slouch either, with both taking 3.7 seconds from 0 to 60 mph.

Another sporty crossover is coming later this year as BMW will give the latest X1 the M Performance treatment for the first time ever. It should do the sprint in around 4.5 seconds considering the old X2 M35i did it in 4.6 seconds.

Source: Carwow / YouTube