I'll be honest here, I'm not a fan of the BMW X6->ke2396. Not even when it comes with an M badge, even though that means it packs a 567-horsepower and 553-pound-feet V-8 powerplant. Call me crazy, but I simply don't like its hunched appearance. On the other hand, my idea of an SUV revolves around the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer, which is why I wouldn't fancy an X6 even if BMW->ke178 dropped a 2,000-horsepower engine in it. But that's not to say I can't appreciate BMW for its effort to make the X6 M the sportiest crossover out there, only slightly slower than the M4.
However, when BMW started bragging about how the second-gen X6 M is sports car in SUV guise, I began to wonder whether these claims are real or just PR talk. I guess BMW anticipated naysayers like me. It flew DTM race drivers Timo Glock and Marco Wittmann in to test the crossover at Austin's Circuit of the Americas F1 track. Both drivers claim the X6 M handles quite well in the twisties, with Glock noting that it feels like a compact sports car. Wittmann, last year's DTM Champion, said he reached cornering speeds of up to 105 mph in the X6 M, which is impressive for a crossover that weighs more than 5,000 pounds.
Click the play button above to watch the X6 M being put through its paces by two of motorsport's most talented drivers.