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  The new BMW ActiveHybrid X6 is a full hybrid, capable of running on batteries alone at speeds up to 60km/h for around three kilometres. Photo Gallery

The performance benchmark for hybrid vehicles will be lifted to a new level before the end of the year.

BMW plans to do the job with a petrol-electric X6, matching the 250km/ h top speed of the Mercedes S-Class hybrid but significantly undercutting its 0-100km/h sprint ability with a 5.6-second mark.

The X6 hybrid — now officially called the BMW ActiveHybrid X6 — is now committed for production by the end of the year, although there is no plan yet to bring it to Australia.

The new SUV is a full hybrid, capable of running on batteries alone at speeds up to 60km/h for around three kilometres, and was developed as part of a technology partnership between BMW, Mercedes-Benz and General Motors.

GM already has three hybrid models in production and Benz is coming with a V6-powered hybrid ML, but those are only rear-wheel drive. "Ours is an all-wheel drive vehicle, with a different transmission. This is a full hybrid, capable of driving electrically," says Andreas Lampka, spokesman for the X6 hybrid program, sitting in Atlanta alongside the car.

And there is another difference. "It's a performance hybrid as well. It's going to be the fastest four- wheel drive hybrid in the world," Lampka says. "The S-Class hybrid is already governed to 250km/h and ours will also go 250. But it will be about 5.6 seconds to 100km/h."

The mechanical package uses the regular 4.4-litre V8 from the X6, with a two-mode, seven-speed automatic transmission. A pair of 67-kiloWatt electric motors are fitted inside the drive system.

The electric controller sits over the engine in the nose, there is a giant nickel-metal-hydride battery pack — manufactured by GM — in the boot, and a special monitoring program in the iDrive system.

The big visual change is a power bulge in the bonnet, to clear the hybrid controller, although there are also unique wheels and hybrid badges on the sides. The hybrid components add around 200 kilograms to the X6's weight, meaning the petrol-electric model will come in around 2600kg.

The same system will also be used for the hybrid version of the luxury 7 Series, which is coming in 2010. But the X6 will be out first. "It will be this year," Lampka says, outlining the sales strategy. "It's a niche product, as any X6 is a niche product, but we don't have a limited amount. We're going to have them and if the market demands them then we will build them."

"We say it is going to be available worldwide, depending on the market. Not just the US and Europe. But selected countries, obviously." Apart from its heft, the other bad news for the ActiveHybrid X6 — if it does come to Australia — is the price. "It will be a considerable premium. we want to make money with our hybrids. Most of the hybrids today are heavily subsidised but we want to make money, and that's why we had the co-operation with DaimlerChrysler and General Motors."

Full details of the hybrid X6 will come towards the end of the year, when BMW will also reveal its plans for the 7 Series. "This is already a production car. Once we go public with this, we will also go public with the 7 Series as well," says Lampka.