The BMW X5 rear-wheel-drive that never was...

2002 BMW X5 4.6is

BMW has disclosed that it developed a rear-wheel-drive M-variant of its first-generation X5 utility vehicle. BMW decided not to produce the vehicle because any X-badged models had to sport an all-wheel-drive system.

Despite the vehicle being "well received" in customer clinics, power came from a V8 petrol engine that was linked to a SMG transmission, so BMW decline the project.

2005 BMW M6

Another rejected model was a CSL variant of the current M6, that was fully developed before getting killed-off. It was axed because BMW didn't see any sense of a business case.

As part of BMW's M-division classic collection, the vehicle was shown to journalists today. Modifications included active aerodynamics, an aero package, a 100kg weight-shedding diet, and more power.