This year is a particularly special one for BMW at the Consumer Electronics Show. Due to the ongoing pandemic, it has decided to pull out of Las Vegas and instead livestream all media announcements directly out of Germany — like announcing the iX M60, which is the first time the luxury automaker has globally debuted a product at CES.
“BMW iX M60 brings together the best from the worlds of BMW i, our BMW X models and BMW M. Together with the BMW i4 M50, BMW iX M60 marks BMW M’s entry into the segment of electrified performance cars,” says Pieter Nota, member of the BMW AG board of management, during Wednesday morning’s virtual press briefing.
“And I can tell you, you really feel and experience the BMW M genes in every single moment. It is the most powerful, fastest electric vehicle ever produced by the BMW Group. This comes along with hallmark BMW M driving dynamics agility and precision in short the BMW ix M60 is the ultimate electric driving machine.”
Just how fast? Two high-output electric motors produce 610 horsepower and up to 811 pound-feet of torque when launch control is activated. That’s good for a 0 to 100 km/h time of just 3.8 seconds. And when the straight roads turn curvy, electric all-wheel drive and model-specific suspension tuning ensures a signature handling experience.
Given the performance-oriented nature of the crossover, more attention was actually paid in the presentation to the onboard digital innovations — this is CES, after all — such as the new My Modes feature. Allowing a greater level of interior customization than ever before to suit a variety of moods and driving environments, there are a few different settings.
- My Mode Expressive: bright colours and abstract patterns take over the Curved Display, moving in concert with IconicSounds Electric. The latter, which iconic film score composer Hans Zimmer helped bring to life, produces acoustic driving feedback providing a solution to the current-day noiseless EV.
- My Mode Relax: The aforementioned abstract patterns are replaced by a series of nature-inspired scenes promoting wellness, harmony and relaxation, played over soothing sounds emitted from the speakers.
- Digital Art Mode: representing the first in-vehicle application of digital art, works from Chinese multimedia artist Cao Fei is dynamically displayed on the infotainment system.
- My Mode Theater: When the time comes to pull over and take a load off, the back of the futuristic SUV becomes a private cinema. The rear-mounted 31-inch ultra-wide 8k resolution Theatre Screen lowers from the headliner, making viewers feel as though they’re at the movies complete with surround sound and 5G connectivity for streaming.
BMW iX M60
The iX M60 has one final trick up its sleeve called iX Flow. Leveraging E Ink technology similar to what’s found in e-readers like the Amazon Kindle, unique body wrap covering the exterior can be stimulated via electrical signals to bring different colour pigments to the surface. Meaning at the touch of a button, the sporty EV can change from white to black and varying shades in-between.