Just when we thought BMW’s “Sports Activity Coupe” couldn’t make any less sense, BMW announces official details on the 2010 ActiveHybrid X6, proudly proclaiming it “the most powerful hybrid vehicle in the world.” Um, okay? Seems a bit like striving to be the most foul-mouthed nun in the world—it’s not really the point.
But if we’ve come to expect anything from the weird, off-road, four-door coupe/sports car, it’s that we won’t understand it but we will appreciate it. And, truth be told, there appears to be much to appreciate about the upcoming hybrid X6. It’s powered by the 400-hp, 450-lb-ft twin-turbo V-8 from the (relatively) normal X6 xDrive50i, supplemented with two electric motors: the first makes 91 hp and 192 lb-ft of torque and the second produces 86 hp and 206 lb-ft. If calling it the “ActiveHybrid” seems contrived, consider that, compared to the X6 hybrid’s combined system power of 480 hp and 575 lb-ft of torque, most other hybrids will indeed seem sedentary. In addition to a 20-percent increase in fuel economy in the European cycle, BMW claims a 0–60 time of 5.4 seconds. That’s just one tenth behind the company’s 5.3-second claim for the nonhybrid V-8 X6 (although we’ve clocked that version to 60 in just 5.1 seconds). That the more powerful hybrid is slower is likely due to the significant weight of the hybrid equipment. Top speed is governed at a very environmentally unfriendly 130 mph.
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