BMW has revealed official details of a range of M-badged diesel models set to go on sale later this year as part of the newly created ‘M-Performance’ brand.

The three models – named X5 M50d, X6 M50d and M550d – will be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March and all make use of the same tri-turbo 3.0-litre six-cylinder diesel. 

The M550d will be available as both an estate and saloon and produces 376bhp, delivered to the rear wheels. That’s still 176bhp short of the M5’s twin-turbo 4.4-litre V8 but 74bhp higher than the most powerful diesel in the 5 Series line-up. 

While it may be significantly down on the M5’s power output, it’s not far off in terms of performance. BMW claims M550d will accelerate from 0-62mph in 4.7 seconds, which is just 0.3 seconds slower than the M5. 

But, the gains in fuel economy are genuinely impressive. Where the M5 only manages 28.5mpg and 232g/km of CO2 the diesel model manages 44.8mpg and 165g/km. Those lowered CO2 emissions alone will save £625 on the price of road tax for the first year.

Both X5 and X6 M50d models are four-wheel drive and boast similarly impressive figures all-round. Both are capable of nearly 40mpg and 0-62mph times in the low 5-second area. 

Visually, the M-Performance diesels aren’t as aggressive as their full-blown M stablemates but subtle bodykits and alloy wheels mark the changes. The interior gets M-badgded door-sills and a special steering wheel and seats. 

The changes to the chassis aren’t as widespread as they would be on M-badged models either, but engineers have fitted the diesels with a few upgraded components and tweaked chassis settings. 

Prices haven’t yet been released for the M550d but the X5 and X6 M50d will cost £60,325 and £62,260 respectively. 

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Submited at Thursday, January 26th, 2012 at 6:00 am on Uncategorized by nuterman
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