What's the news?
If you hadn't guessed from the picture above, BMW has released a special edition of its X6 M that will be limited to just 100 examples. It's called the Design Edition, and comes with styling enhancements both inside and out.
Exterior
Let's begin with the obvious: the stripes. They, for those who don't like ostentatiousness, are in fact an optional extra; and can be selected when deciding whether you want an Alpine White, Sapphire Black or Melbourne Red metallic paint finish for the rest of the body. Whatever you choose, you'll get it with a matte black grille and carbon fibre front splitter at the front; 21-inch lightweight alloy wheels in the middle; and a carbon fibre spoiler and diffuser to go with the car's quad exhaust outlets round the back.
Interior
Inside, more changes have occurred. The interior is trimmed almost entirely in Merino Black leather, although various Mugello Red flourishes feature on the dashboard, seats and in the stitching. The X6 M Design Edition is also fitted with a numbered plaque that resides on the Piano Black dashboard insert in front of the passenger seat. Equipment levels mimic those of the standard X6 M, giving buyers a top-spec BMW Professional Navigation system, Internet connectivity, a head-up display, four-zone automatic air conditioning and a reversing camera among the car's list of goodies.
Mechanicals
The limited edition variant is fitted with the same engine found in the standard X6 M: a 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 packing a 555hp punch. This is enough to get the X6 M from 0-100km/h in 4.7 seconds and onto a limited top speed of 250km/h. Power is still sent to the rear-biased xDrive all-wheel drive system; and the car's standard Adaptive Drive system should ensure the suspension can cope when sticking the heavy SUV through the bends. Just don't mention the 20mpg economy figure...
Anything else?
With just 100 examples being offered, we don't expect to see any of the Design Editions in Ireland any time soon.