BMW X5 (E53) - History

History

The history of the X5 begins in 1994, when ideas began on a BMW sports utility vehicle after the acquisition of Land Rover. In mid-1996 Chris Bangle initiated a project called "Deep Blue". In August 1996, he sent a group of 12 designers to Malibu, California to gather research and brainstorm. At a November 16, 1996 meeting in Germany, 3 months of design work was held back and hidden from Bangle in an effort to protect E53 engineers, who had not produced any results for the project. By February 1997 design work was completed and the design basis for the X5 (E53) was signed off for production. Design patents were filed on June 10, 1998 and December 9, 1998, being registered in the U.S. on January 18, 2000.

The takeover of Rover proved to be very beneficial for BMW in the development of the X5. BMW engineers were able to look at and use Range Rover technology and parts in the development of the X5 - one such example would be hill-descent control. In many respects, the design of the X5 was influenced by its British counterpart; for example, the X5 got the two-piece tailgate straight from the Range Rover. Many parts and electronics were also taken directly from the E39 5 Series parts bin to save costs.

In contrast to the Range Rover models, the X5 was designed as a sporting road car: its off-road capabilities are significantly less than those of Land Rover. BMW reportedly worked hard to ensure it was referred to as an SAV (Sports Activity Vehicle) instead of an SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle).

Even though the X5 was an all-wheel drive vehicle, BMW chose from the start to route 62% of the engine's torque to the rear wheels, making it feel as close as possible to the company's rear-wheel drive sedans.