2023 BMW iX M60: 610 HP From a 111.5-kWh Battery for $106K
BMW’s most potent EV yet is a performance crossover that makes sounds composed by Hans Zimmer.
Electric cars like the i4 won't ever be BMW's bread and butter, not with SUVs being as popular as they are. BMW needs something a bit bigger if it wants to cut itself a significant slice of the performance EV market, and this June, it'll take its stab with the 2023 BMW iX M60. It's an X5-sized electric performance crossover with 610 horsepower, unabashed femme vibes, and a soundtrack by famed composer Hans Zimmer.
The iX M60 derives power from a duo of M-specific, rare earth mineral-free motors—one per axle—that most of the time produce a combined 532 horsepower and 749 pound-feet of torque. With launch control active, though, they'll lay down 610 and 811 respectively, flinging the iX M60 from standstill to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds, and on to a limited top speed of 130. Summer tires can push that to 155, if you want.
Those motors drink juice from a 111.5-kilowatt-hour battery, and thanks in part to a 0.26 drag coefficient, the go-fast iX has an EPA-estimated range of 280 miles. Recharging on 250-kW DC input can take the iX M60 from 10 to 80 percent charge in just 35 minutes, keeping stops as short as a quick meal.
The battery itself is mounted in the floor of the car's aluminum spaceframe, which is reinforced and lightened by a "carbon cage" and carbon fiber-reinforced polymer in the roof, side panels, and rear of the body. Despite this use of composites, the iX M60 still weighs in at a staggering 5,769 pounds, though that mass is at least mercifully well-distributed, with 47.5 percent up front and 52.5 out back, most of it being down low.
All that weight is suspended by double-wishbone front and five-link rear suspension, both of which are sprung on adaptive air with electronic shock absorbers. Both alter stiffness individually at each corner to maintain 8.8 inches of ground clearance, though they can also raise or lower the iX automatically or manually as needed. All of it interfaces with the tarmac through 21-inch wheels wrapped in all-season tires, or optionally, 22s with high-performance summer rubber.
Standard tech is generous throughout the rest of the vehicle with laser high beams, parking assists, adaptive cruise control, and various advanced driver-assistance systems that, with a strong sensor suite, may gain functions over time. Inside, four-zone climate control complements seats upholstered in real or synthetic leather that offer heating and ventilation up front. There's wireless device charging, a panoramic LED "sky lounge" roof, voice and gesture control, and a Bowers & Wilkins Diamond surround-sound stereo that showcases the driving tones of the various drive modes. Each was designed by the aforementioned Herr Zimmer, who sampled a variety of sources, such as classical instruments, a woman's voice, and the vibrations of a guitar string rubbed with a glass cylinder.
BMW says the 2023 iX M60 will start at $106,095, and it'll launch this June. The first half of 2022 seems awfully early to launch a 2023 model, but depending on how this year goes, we may be ready to turn the page on 2022 by then anyway.
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