2024 BMW XM Label Red revealed and priced

It hasn’t even landed in Australia yet but BMW has given its intentionally obnoxious 2.7-tonne XM hyper-SUV more power and speed with the flagship 2024 BMW XM Label Red.

Priced from $344,200 plus on-road costs, or from $349,900 for an even higher-grade Edition variant, the XM Label Red will be the most powerful M car ever built and is scheduled to land in the final quarter of this year.

That pricing sees the Label Red about $50,000 more expensive than the standard BMW XM in Australia, which starts at $297,900 plus on-road costs and launches here soon.

With 550kW of power and a stunning 1000Nm of torque, the twin-turbo V8 plug-in hybrid XM Label Red will rip to 100km/h in 3.8 seconds – pipping the BMW X5 M and X6 M by a tenth of a second (which the stock XM failed to do).

BMW M has achieved this by leaving the 145kW/280Nm electric motor alone and lifting the performance of the V8 petrol engine from 360kW/650Nm in the XM to 430kW/750Nm in the XM Label Red.

That’s still below the output from the same engine in the X5 M and X6 M, which crank out 460kW, but the disc-shaped electric motor, mounted inside the eight-speed automatic transmission, adds more boost.

The e-motor, combined with the stock XM’s 25.7kWh lithium-ion battery, also gives the XM Label Red between 75km and 82km of EV range, with a 140km/h top speed in its EV mode.

With both of its motors at full ramming speed, it will run in to a speed limiter at 250km/h, or BMW can shift that to 290km/h with the M Driver’s package option.

It is slightly thirstier than its tamer XM donor car, adding a single tenth to its WLTP fuel consumption figure, moving from 1.6 to 1.7 litres per 100km, or from 35 grams to 39g of CO2 per kilometre.

But while the XM Label Red is the SUV that makes the X6 M seem sensible, it has competition from outside BMW, and even outside BMW M.

While Mercedes-AMG and Audi don’t play at this level, it has more than enough competition that boasts comparable or better performance, without the weight of hybrid drive. Without the fuel economy, too, but without the weight.

For example, the Aston Martin DBX707 is more than 400kg lighter than the BMW XM Label Red, but has 520kW/900Nm and sprints to 100km/h half a second quicker.

Not a pure performance SUV, the Bentley Bentayga still has enough oomph to reach 100km/h in 4.5 seconds, while the Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT gets there in 3.3 seconds, and at $351,900 plus ORCs is right in the XM Label Red ballpark on price.

The target for BMW M has been the Lamborghini Urus, and the Urus S is priced at $409,744 plus ORCs.

The XM Label Red has more power (60kW), more peak torque (150Nm) and a LOT more mass, which is why it still gets thumped by the smaller-capacity Italian twin-turbo V8 to 100km/h (3.5 seconds) and top speed (305km/h).

More XM Label Red details

To premiere at this month’s Shanghai motor show, the XM Label Red will be produced at BMW’s plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, rolling off the line from August.

The limited-run Edition version of the Label Red is restricted to 500 units globally, with Australia getting 30 of them.

This car has an exterior paint finish in Frozen Carbon Black metallic with Toronto Red metallic accent bands, although a black accent band can also be specified. The use of red extends to badges and wheel inserts.

In the cabin, the top-shelf variant features Merino leather upholstery with “exclusive contents” in Fiona Red/Black Edition, along with an “x of 500” badge beneath the digital instrument cluster.

Australian-spec Label Red cars are fitted standard with 22-inch light-alloy wheels, however 23-inch rims are available as a no-cost option.

The surrounds for the BMW M kidney grille and diffuser elements are finished in high-gloss black.

BMW says customers can choose from more than 50 BMW Individual paint finishes, including a new Urban Green, Petrol Mica metallic, Anglesey Green metallic and Sepia metallic.

The Label Red’s suspension has been adapted from the XM and uses the Adaptive M Professional suspension set-up, which brings active roll stabilisation and active roll comfort as well as electronically controlled dampers.

It uses rear-wheel steering and six-piston front brake callipers but, bizarrely, only a single-piston rear braking system.

Inside, it runs the same Harman Kardon surround sound system as the XM, but has a 1475W Bowers and Wilkins Diamond system optionally available.

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