Although the company's ‘M' division is now spreading its wings and adding flourishes of motorsport technology or styling to a host of BMW models, rather than simply concentrating on making pure, undiluted ‘M' variants of each production car, if a BMW comes from the factory with the M badge on its rear, it's never a marketing gimmick.
So, for the M500d xDrive to earn the right to wear the M badge, it has to offer something a bit special, regardless of what type of fuel it runs on. And here, the car doesn't disappoint as owners will be able to claim their car has the most powerful six-cylinder diesel ever fitted to a production automobile.
It has three liters of displacement, four turbochargers and 400hp. As for torque, a diesel engine's trump card, there's 760Nm on offer and it is accessible from 2,000rpm. It may come with an electronically restricted 250km/h (155mph) top speed, but on the way to that figure, it will hit 100km/h in just 4.4 seconds. Plump for the bulkier, heavier Touring (station wagon) version and it will still manage that dash in 4.6 seconds.Also Read: BMW Makes the M4 Even Faster With The Club Sport
But M cars have to be fun in the bends as well as on the straight so the M500d xDrive comes with the intelligent all-wheel drive, sharper suspension, an eight-speed sports transmission and a ride height dropped by 10mm for improved centre of gravity.
Diesel may have a dirty name at the moment, but in the short term at least, the fuel's efficiency is going to be crucial in helping truly global car companies meet tighter emissions and economy standards.
It's why Mercedes invested over €3 billion developing its latest generation ultra-efficient, lightweight OM 654 diesel powertrain that debuted in its E-Class in mid-2016. It's also why Bentley, a company founded on very torque-y gasoline V8 engines and laterally W12 twin turbo blocks has finally started offering its most fuel-thirsty car -- the Bentayga SUV -- with a diesel option.
The M550d xDrive has a gasoline sibling, the M550i. It has a 4.4 liter V8 calling the shots and it's 0.4 seconds faster off the line, has 62 more horsepower but just 650Nm torque. It offers a combined fuel economy of 8.9l/100km and 204g/km in terms of CO2 emissions.
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