Like Its M Hybrid V8 Counterpart in the WeatherTech Championship, the XM Label SUV Is a Pacesetter as Well
By John Oreovicz
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – At first glance, it’s tough to identify many similarities between the BMW XM Label SUV and the BMW M Hybrid V8 racing car that competes in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – though the oversize lighted twin kidney grilles up front do share a family resemblance.
The XM Label is BMW’s most powerful production vehicle to date, boasting 738 horsepower and 738 lb-ft of torque courtesy of a 4.4-liter, twin-turbo V-8 engine boosted by a hybrid energy regeneration system. A sister version of the XM Label, the BMW XM (shown above with the BMW M Hybrid V8), served as one of IMSA’s safety cars during the 2023 season.
The M Hybrid V8 is BMW’s newest and most advanced racing car, using a 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V-8 boosted by a standardized hybrid energy regeneration system that makes it eligible to race in IMSA and the FIA World Endurance Championship.
The XM Label is a performance-based SUV that weighs more than three tons and carries four passengers in cosseted luxury. The Label version accelerates from 0-60 mph in less than four seconds yet can be driven up to 30 miles utilizing only stored charge and the onboard electric motor.
The M Hybrid V8 uses its hybrid system to accelerate out of the pits, then streamlines management of the electrical components and the internal combustion engine to create flexible race strategies for teams and the lone occupant of the low-slung racer’s cramped cabin.
The engines and hybrid systems are not directly shared between the two very different vehicles. But the principles, applications and resultant increased fuel efficiency are almost exactly the same.
IMSA’s GTP regulations that stipulate standardized hybrid components were intended to balance performance and efficiency, a tradeoff that production car manufacturers have grappled with for decades. Hybrid technology helps create the best of both worlds. Not only can electric power be used to boost acceleration, energy harvested under braking can be deployed to reduce load on the internal combustion engine and improve fuel economy.
For drivers of street cars, that can result in substantial fuel cost savings – not to mention added performance. For racers, it can expand the palate for how teams manage their fuel strategy throughout a race.
The capability of the BMW M Hybrid V8 was displayed on track throughout the 2023 WeatherTech Championship, with Connor De Phillippi and Nick Yelloly claiming a race win in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen. BMW also recently demonstrated the performance skills of the XM Label when Matt Mullins set a certified new record for hybrid SUVs on the course used for the legendary Broadmoor Pikes Peak Hill Climb.
“XM is a luxury SUV with all the accoutrements, but it has so much power,” said Neil Moreno, XM campaign manager in marketing for BMW North America. “The idea was we can take a car off the factory line and race it up Pikes Peak. We thought, ‘That’s cool … let’s see what it does!”
“What it means for BMW is just another opportunity to show what it stands for: the Ultimate Driving Machine,” added Mullins, a professional stunt driver who is also chief instructor at the BMW Performance Center in South Carolina.
The XM Label was prepared by Rhys Millen Racing in California, which entailed stripping out that luxurious interior and replacing it with a racing seat, six-point roll cage, and other safety items. Otherwise, the car was stock as advertised.
A planned private test day was canceled by snow, but Mullins surpassed the target time during qualifying on the lowest segment of the course. The story then took a dramatic turn. Conditions on race day were hotter than Mullins, a Pikes Peak rookie, had before experienced. He lost control and ran wide exiting a fast left-hander, thankfully on an inland stretch. Still, the XM Label went head-on with the right-front corner into a tree and flipped. A camera crew was on hand to capture an uninjured Mullins’ emotional reunion with his family back in the pits.
Undeterred, another rare XM Label was procured (only 500 examples of the $185,995 vehicle will be produced) from the Spartanburg, South Carolina, production line and prepared for a second attempt at the record. The crew returned to Pikes Peak three months later, on Sept. 23, and Mullins guided the burly SUV through the Peak’s 156 corners in 10 minutes, 48.6 seconds, besting the previous race day mark by almost 1.5 seconds.
“Peak Power,” a two-part video documenting the record-setting 12.42-mile run, can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k036WW62zoM
The BMW XM Label and other models in the BMW M lineup can be seen on display in the manufacturer midway at most WeatherTech Championship races. The next opportunity is at Daytona International Speedway, where the annual Roar Before the Rolex 24 kicks off Rolex 24 At Daytona activities on Jan. 19.