First all-electric M SUV packs 619PS punch

We have driven already the iX xDrive 50, BMW’s current top electric SUV which with 523PS (385kW) for 0-62mph in 4.6 seconds is hardly a slouch. But the M60 takes performance up a notch. The X5-sized all-wheel drive machine boasts 619PS (455kW), though only for 10-second bursts with power at 533PS (397kW) the rest of the time. Torque is up too, to 1,015Nm (751Nm). The 0-62mph time comes down to 3.8 seconds and top speed – restricted to 124mph in other iX versions – is upped to 155mph.

Performance like this can keep Tesla’s Model X honest – and gets within shouting distance of the combustion-engined Cayennes and Bentaygas and indeed BMW’s own X6 M at the top of the SUV performance tree. Range? BMW says on the WLTP cycle the M60 can go up to 352 miles, so 30 miles down on the less powerful iX.

If you are a fan of the iX already you will love the M60 variant – inside and out, they are largely the same. So how, you ask, does it justify its M badge? Standard is air suspension (it’s optional on other iX versions) and it comes in what BMW says is a specifically M-tuned dual-axle form with automatic level control.

Apart from that and the extra power the M60 is set apart only by blue brake callipers, gloss black and titanium bronze trim parts and lots of M logos. Oh, and by Titanium Bronze 22-inch wheels if that option was ticked.

So not a full blooded M car then, more a model designation along the lines of the only previous electric BMW with an M in its name: the i4 M50. Unlike that model, the iX is exclusively battery-powered, the brand’s first clean-sheet electric car design and significant for its construction. Its aluminium spaceframe, carbon passenger cell and carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) in the roof, side and rear are all designed to keep weight as low as possible.

The iX is significant too for being BMW’s technology flagship and the M60 is unlikely to disappoint on that score. You get plenty of luxury and convenience features as standard (more, says BMW, than it has ever offered), along with the latest iDrive, 5G data transmission and BMW Operating System 8 for entirely button-free control – it’s all touch-screen and voice control here. It also means more driver intervention systems than ever before.

Being an iX you also get what BMW calls its “distinctive presence” and what others might say are challenging looks with a Bugs Bunny grille. Inside it’s just as distinctive with a hexagonal steering wheel.

No price yet – bound to be into six figures with some options – and due to hit showrooms in June after its official unveiling at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas later in January.