Want to show off the racier side of your new Sports Activity Vehicle? But still demonstrate the off-road capabilities? It’s a tricky conundrum. But here’s one answer, as the new BMW X5 races around a Sahara Desert version of Monza. That’s right, the entire 5,793 metres of the iconic Italian circuit was recreated on the sand, including every bend, straight, corner and chicane for an exact replica. And then BMW drivers got to hoon around it for some pretty cool pictures and video.
Obviously it took a bit of time to set up the sand version of the Monza track. Cloning the radius and curver of every bend took more than two weeks and a team of over 50 people. That included four days of study and preparation with surveyors, engineers and architects. Then there was topographic design and simulation before four bulldozes spent 9 days shifting more than 3,500 cubic metres of earth. Along with trucks, graders and compactors to make it all drivable.
But the end result looks pretty incredible. And BMW brought along the new R 1250 GS motorcycle to welcome the fourth generation X5 to the Monza, Sahara race circuit.
Like the Adventure Sports motorcycle, the BMW X5 Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV) aims to offer performance and ability both on, and off-road. The latest version is a big bigger in terms of overall size, to improve safety, which helps to justify the fuel consumption of 11.6-6.0 l/100 km, with CO2 emissions combined of 264-158 g/km.
Underneath the bigger body are new chassis systems for performance and comfort. That includes the Dynamic Damper Control which is part of the standard equipment. But there’s also Adaptive M Professional suspension with active anti-roll stabilisation. And the debut of Integral Active Steering in a BMW X model.
Both axles feature air suspension, which allows you to adjust the height of the new BMW X5 by 80 millimetres either by pressing a button or using the BMW Display Key. So you can go for comfort or performance settings depending on what you need at the time.
The new BMW X5 also offers customers the option of the xOffroad package. With it, you can choose between four off-road driving modes controlled by one button. So you can pick xSand, xRocks, xGravel or xSnow. And when you do, the X5 will automatically go to the ideal vehicle height settings, xDrive system, acceleration response and transmission control.
And the DSC system will also adjust to the settings for the right corrective inputs whether you’re dealing with sand or snow.
So as the new BMW X5 races around a Sahara Desert version of Monza, we’d assume the xSand setting is in action. And it doesn’t just make for amazing photos, but BMW also got a good video out of their weeks of work. Which you can watch below.
If anyone happens to have access to a desert and an off-road vehicle, then we’d definitely be up for recreating some of the world’s best circuits with our bucket and spade.
New BMW X5 Races Around A Sahara Desert Version Of Monza: Video
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