BMW X5 LeMans Breaks The 8-Minute Record
Munich/Nurburg, Germany. June 28, 2001. BMW is always good for causing a
sensation as far as the time for completing a lap at the Nurburgring is
concerned not only on the occasion of the European Grand Prix: only a few days
before this event the racing driver Hans-Joachim Stuck driving the X5 LeMans
completed the 20.8 km northern circuit of the Nurburgring in 7.49,92 minutes,
which is an incredible result. In the straight he reached a top speed of 311
km/h. The X5 LeMans concept car is mostly based on the series-production X5 and
demonstrates the BMW Sports Activity Vehicle's enormous potential in terms of
technology.
So far it has been considered to be impossible for a Sports Activity Vehicle to
break the magic 8-minute record in the so-called "Green Hell". The time it took
the X5 LeMans to complete the loop has so far been expected only from specially
tuned racing cars or thoroughbred sport coupes. By comparison: the BMW 320i
completed the famous circuit in the Eifel area at the Super Touring Car
Championship in 7.37 minutes. Under perfect conditions it takes a modern BMW
sports car like the Z8, that delivers 400 bhp, 8.16 minutes to do this distance.
The X5 Le Mans concept car has been modified only slightly compared to the
series-production version. It is powered by the V12 engine of the prize-winning
car in Le Mans in 1999, which produces more than 700 bhp and a torque of 720
Nm. The suspension has been lowered by 30 millimetres. The external dimensions
basically correspond to those of the series-production X5. Inside the
comfortable standard seats have been replaced by four sporty bucket seats.
Aluminium is predominant all around.
The idea behind the concept car is of technological origin: the BMW engineers
wanted to find out in practice and demonstrate the X5's absolute limits. It was
a pleasant side-effect that it turned out to be a very attractive showpiece
that already caused a great stir at the Geneva Motor Show in 2000.
Contact:
Jochen Frey
Phone: 1 (49) 89-382-28576
