Bagged!

The fact is well known that BMW will soon market a 5 Series-based, high-performance sport/utility vehicle. You may have seen fuzzy, long-distance spy photos of the camouflaged test mules-replete with Country Squire-inspired fake wood on the sides-being flogged about Europe by the Munich development team. BMW itself has admitted the machine, which it calls an SAV, or "sports/activity vehicle," does indeed exist. Furthermore, the company has announced it will be built at BMW's Spartanburg, South Carolina, assembly plant, current birthplace to all Z3 models.

But there's a world of difference between grainy photos, shot with a 600-millimeter lens through a chickenwire fence while the spy photographer is chased by a factory security guard, and being close enough to one of BMW's development rigs to touch it. That difference is in the details. And details are what we learned when we stumbled upon this BMW development rig, undergoing hot-weather durability testing in the Nevada desert. And talk about luck: we happened to be driving our Mercedes-Benz ML320 long-term test vehicle at the time of the sighting. This allowed us to put the two soon-to-be-competitors nearly side by side, for a comparison that sport/utility vehicle buyers will make when the BMW hits the market as a 2000 model.

Internally code-named E53, BMW's first foray into the off-road market somewhat resembles a 540i Sportwagon that's been taking steroids and pumping iron. There's no mistaking the 5 Series-inspired shapes and detailing, despite the flat-black plastic body panel covers. The spoiler above the rear window may or may not be additional camouflage, but the vents tacked onto the rear side windows definitely are.

A good bit of the all-terrain Bimmer's aggressive stance comes from the fender flares that roll neatly into the rocker panels, the top surface of which is finished out as a narrow running board. The same panels also form the lower rear fascia. The lower front fascia is very aggressive, somewhat resembling that of a Lincoln Navigator. A piece of the front camouflage bumper panel on this particular machine was broken, exposing a set of, not-for-our-eyes, round foglights just below the plastic-encased headlight clusters. Wide, six-spoke alloy wheels are wrapped by 235/65HR17 all-terrain tires (Michelins on this rig), and there are big vented disc brakes at all four corners.

There's little question about the top engine offering. Four exhaust pipes exiting just below the rear bumper (two per side), and the engine sound as the truck drove away, indicated this one was probably powered by a variant of BMW's outstanding 4.4-liter all-alloy DOHC V-8. Another tip-off came from the shifter quadrant, one of BMW's Steptronic units. On other platforms, such as the Euro-spec 540i Sportwagon and now-defunct 840Ci, the five-speed Steptronic automanual transmission has only been offered in combination with the V-8.

In passenger-car form, the V-8 makes 282 horsepower; for SAV duty, expect the engine to receive some retuning for a bit more torque, but the final power rating will likely be nothing less than that of the 268-horse/4.3-liter V-8 due in Mercedes-Benz' upcoming ML430. As with the ML320, count on a six-cylinder version in base form, powered by an enlarged version of the 2.8-liter inline six, putting out around 225 horsepower. And don't be surprised if there's a third version a year or two hence carrying an M badge and an even more performance-oriented engine/suspension/trim package. All versions most assuredly will be all-wheel drive.