X6 one of a kind -- no SAC range around the corner
BMW looks unlikely to expand its range of Sports Activity Coupes and insiders cite practicality as the reason...BMW's new X6 Sports Activity Coupe (SAC) looks likely to remain the lone 'fastback' in the brand's SUV line-up.
Speaking at this week's local launch of the "offroad-oriented sportscar" [BMW's words, not ours], BMW Australia spokesman, Toni Andreevski said while further engine variants of the X6 were possible, the carmaker has no current plans to expand the SAC line-up to include models based on X3 -- or indeed smaller X-cars.
"What one of the challenges would be obviously, is the size of the car. Taking an X5 and turning it into an X6, you've still got, let's say, reasonably good rear headroom... Once you get to say, an X3, if you were to turn that into a slopey, sort of slinky roof, maybe then you might be a bit more challenged," Andreevski told the Carsales Network.
According to Andreevski, the X6 has been conceived to deliver "reasonable" practicality. This practicality would be problematic in an X3-sized SAC, he says.
"The car [an SAC] has to fulfil kind of both criteria. It needs to be relatively practical, or at least better than a traditional sportscar. Some of the smaller X-models [Ed: is that a hint?] may or may not be able to do that -- at least using this [the X6's] design [language].
"If the trend goes forward for more expressive design and even less concern about practicality, then it'd be something we'd look at. But on the other hand, if you take the total sales, the vast majority of sales of luxury SUVs, or SAVs, is still based around the concept of total practicality. Maybe even if they're not using the practicality all the time, it's a feeling that they could. Maybe they could go slightly offroad or could go off to the skifields and carry lots of luggage.
"This [type of] car is definitely not for them. This car is for the person that is thinking about it the other way around -- 'Yeah, I like sporty kind of cars but need a little bit more, little bit more space," Andreevski opined.
The local communications head stop short of ruling out an X4 or similar out of hand, however.
"Anything's possible I guess... Obviously we want to see how successful this car is internationally. If we feel that there's a demand for such a product, I'm sure that they [BMW's model planners] would look at it," Andreevski said.
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