BMW X6 M join the queue

With deliveries due to start in before Christmas, BMW Australia spokesman, Toni Andreevski, says dealers are already fielding inquiries.

"One of the reasons the company had to confirm the car early is that customers are already making inquiries," he says.

"Our dealers are already trying to work out when their allocations arrive."

Andreevski says pricing and specifications will be announced next month, but the hotter X6 is tipped to be more than $200,000.

Powering the brawny four-wheel drive "coupe" will be a new twin-scroll twin-turbocharged 4.4-litre V8 developing 408kW/680Nm, providing the car with a zero to 100km/h sprint time of just 4.7 seconds.

Visually the car gets massive 20-inch wheels, quad exhausts and huge bumper level air intakes.

It is 10mm lower than the standard X6, incorporates stiffer springs and air suspension.

The X6 M comes with a host of driver-oriented technologies, including M Dynamic Drive, electronically adjustable dampers and active roll-control.

BMW's ‘EfficientDynamics’ system will be standard. This incorporates brake energy regeneration and on-demand control of the electrical fuel pump and detachable compressor when the air conditioning is switched off.

The X6 M gets a six-speed sports automatic gearbox, steering wheel shift paddles linked the precise Servotronic steering system.

Andreevski says the X6, despite its niche classification, has been a surprising hit locally with 545 sold since it went on sale 10 months ago.

"V8 sales are running twice the amount of the X5," Andreevski says.

"It's clear the X6 is attracting a more sports oriented driver so the X6 M will extend that one step further."

Andreevski says about 40 per cent of X6 customers are new to the brand, switching from a competitor luxury brand, and many buyers stepped up from a traditional two-door coupe.

He says the X6 has outsold its closest competitor, the Porsche Cayenne, by almost 20 per cent.

Globally, BMW has sold more than 35,000 X6s.