Even though BMW revealed the X5 eDrive Concept earlier this year, and again at the recent Paris Auto Show, it obviously is not ready to show us the finished production version, as these Carscoops.com spy shots prove.
This heavily camouflaged vehicle is almost certainly a BMW X5 plug-in hybrid and was spotted on the streets of Berlin last Friday. During the next year and a half, we should continue to see spy shots with a continuing strip tease of more removed camouflage.
As you may recall, the X5 eDrive Concept has a two-liter turbocharged gasoline engine and a 94 horsepower electric motor. It is very quick—zero to 60 mph in seven seconds—and very frugal—62 miles per gallon. In pure electric drive it has a range of just under twenty miles.
The X5 has been a sales success for BMW and is the signature product for BMW Plant Spartanburg in South Carolina. Expanding the X5 line to include the first Sport Activity Plug-in Hybrid will help the company’s corporate average fuel economy, will move the fleet rating closer to European Union requirements, and should boost sales—if they don’t price it too high. BMW high-performance coupe and sedan enthusiasts may not be excited, but fans of the BMW X family should be.—Scott Blazey
