Top Gear Smackdown: BMW X7 M60i Versus M50d in Ultimate Power Clash
Commanding presence, aggressive styling, and exhilarating power – the BMW X7 series has long stood as the epitome of luxury performance SUVs. And yet, BMW has chosen to evade a full M iteration for its X7 lineup, but the M Performance variants held their ground as flag bearers. The pre-facelift models had the pulse-racing M50i and the torque maestro M50d. With the M50d bowing out in 2020, bidding farewell with a Quad-turbocharged diesel swan song, enthusiasts have been left with the enigmatic M60i, which stands as a testament to the Bavarian marque's push towards electrified muscle.
Enter the battleground where YouTube's Carwow has orchestrated a clash of titans, pitching the retired diesel demon against its gasoline-powered heir – the X7 M60i. Reminiscing the M50d's might wielded from its 'B57D30S0' straight-six 3.0-liter heart, churning out a massive 394 hp and a rather astounding 560 lb-ft of torque. The M60i, on the other side, sports an innovative, electrified weapon – the S68 twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8 mild-hybrid, flexing 523 horsepower muscles alongside 553 lb-ft of motive twist.
With a formidable difference in their approach to power – one harvesting the dead’s echo and the other embracing the spark of the future – it's evident that this would be more than a race. It's a statement on the roadway, and it's an assertion of legacy versus innovation.
Keep your eyes peeled as both contenders stand poised on the quarter-mile asphalt canvas. Packing less weight to the tune of about 140 kilograms, the X7 M60i, swifter on paper, lives up to its expectations by clocking a jaw-dropping 4.7 seconds in the sprint from stagnation to 62 mph. The M50d takes its time, leisurely clocking in a full second behind. But numbers do little justice to the raw, unfettered drama that unfolds when the rubber greedily grips the tarmac.
The spectacle, not dampened even by an additional five souls on board the M60i, saw the gasoline giant charge relentlessly ahead, cleaving through the air to reach the quarter-mile marker first. Moreover, the bout saw the M60i flex its superiority in roll-on drag races from 50 mph, stretching the gap ever wider.
A solitary moment of triumph for the M50d, aside from its stout performance in the race, was realized in the braking test, where the diesel beast managed to claw to a stop with a shorter braking distance from 100 mph. A small, yet fierce victory for a variant that always had more to give than just straight-line speed.
While motoring aficionados hold their breath in anticipation to see how the incoming XM / XM Label and the 2024 X5 M Competition stack up in these drag race theatrics, let us savor this face-off. After all, it isn’t every day that we witness the dissolution of the old guard and the rise of a new chapter, or rather a new charge, within BMW’s storied performance SUV lineage.
For a full visual breakdown of this epic duel, one can journey over to Carwow’s YouTube channel, where metal roars and rubber burns resonate through the screen.