In case you’re unfamiliar with the XM First Responder, the specialty vehicle broke cover back in August. BMW showed its latest Protection cars in the Czech Republic where the armored X5 and 7 Series were escorted by this flashy SUV. Now, the electrified behemoth has made the trip to Munich to visit the BMW Welt. As if the standard XM wasn’t striking enough, this custom-wrapped example is sure to draw a crowd.
The XM First Responder is part of a newly created BMW Protection Driving Experience program. It’s essentially an invitation made by the luxury automaker for government institutions to test its armored cars in the hope they’ll buy one. These include the X5 VR6 Protection and 7 Series/i7 Protection, both of which were joined by the XM at a one-day event organized in Czechia.
BMW has a long tradition of purpose-built vehicles we typically see at the RETTmobil. It’s an annual event dedicated to specialty vehicles for emergency medicine and rescue services. The XM wasn’t there this year but we did see the X1, iX1, 5 Series Touring, and the X5 modified to perform different tasks. Truth be told, the XM isn’t the best model for doing this type of work given its exorbitant price tag. Consequently, there are much cheaper BMWs that make more sense, budget-wise.
The XM shown here is based on the 644-horsepower version that BMW will discontinue next summer. After that, only the six-cylinder XM 50e and the hotter XM Label are sticking around. It’s safe to say the plug-in hybrid SUV hasn’t exactly been a commercial success. There are already reports the higher-ups have nixed a second-generation model. However, this hasn’t been confirmed yet and we believe a decision is still pending.
In the meantime, we haven’t heard anything about a potential Life Cycle Impulse for the XM. It could be a sign that BMW isn’t willing to invest more money into a slow-selling product.
Source: BMW Welt / Instagram