The BMW X5 is one of the brand’s best-known cars, but there was a time when it was a totally new model. Thus was born the original X5.
The BMW X5 It is in a well-established position within the SUV segment and within the brand’s own model range. However, there was a time when it was not like that and it was simply a new car trying to gain a foothold in the sector. This is how the original X5 – named E53 – was created.
The idea to make this car came from the 90’s. In 1994, BMW bought the Rover Group, which included Rover, MG, Triumph, Mini, and Land Rover. With that last brand, the German firm had access to a off-road car platform and the question arose as to what the result would be if they created a car with these characteristics.
In this way, the project began and the design team then led by Chris bangle They put the workers to work. However, there was a problem: time. He gave a within only six weeks to create a life-size model to show the brand, which greatly complicated the work.
Designed on an airplane
The person in charge of designing the car would be Frank Stephenson, who over the years would also create the Mini from the beginning of the BMW era or the Ferrari F430, among others.
As the designer himself points out on his YouTube channel, Bangle suggested design the car on the return flight after the meeting with the directors of the brand. It was a journey of only two hours and Stephenson notes that “It was a bit scary, because sitting on a plane and designing a car in two hours is not the easiest thing in the world“.
However, the initial sketch was able to be completed with some key details in mind. To begin with, the designer mentions that “it couldn’t just look like an off-roader. It must have had some amount of elegance”In your design. Also, the problem was that could not be based on any other car of the brand, since the BMW X5 would be the first SUV of the German firm.
In any case, elements such as the characteristic front of those years were added, with the small grill of the kidneys. In addition, the characteristic D-pillar line was added, called “Hofmeister fold”. It is a characteristic rear pillar angle of BMW cars since the 3200 CS of 1961. It is a hallmark of the manufacturer and should be present.
With these details, the design was ready to start working on the first models and those in charge would be three men who, although they were already in their 70s, would be very capable of making it come true. They themselves were the ones they worked on the Lamborghini Miura and Frank Stephenson acknowledges that “it was like being in front of Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci and Rembrandt”.
Once the life-size model was created, it was shipped to BMW and acceptance was immediate. The X5 finally presented at the 1999 Detroit Motor Show and it was offered to the market with diesel and gasoline engines whose powers ranged between 184 and 360 hp. It was for sale until 2006 and they were manufactured more than 600,000 units. Becoming one of the biggest successes of the brand.
This article was published on Top Gear by Sergio Ríos.