The BMW X4 M40i Is A Ridiculously Unsubtle Uber SUV With 350bhp

Like the idea of an M135i or M235i but want something a little more jacked up and with questionable rear visibility? BMW has just revealed the car for you.

The German company has taken the ostentatious X4 35i and cranked up the power from the ‘N55’ 3.0-litre turbocharged straight-six, creating the X4 M40i. Like the aforementioned M135i and M235i, it’s not a full fat M Division car, but instead the work of M Performance.

The straight-six is now good for 350bhp and 343lb ft, up from the 35i’s 298bhp. This makes it the most powerful application of the N55 yet, until the M2 comes along with its expected M Divison version of the engine. The extra poke allows the semi-M X40 to crack 0-62mph in 4.9 seconds, and top out at an electronically-limited 155mph.

The standard X4 is already annoyingly good to drive, but this version should be even better. The springs are stronger, the camber altered on the front wheels, and the adaptive dampers have been tuned "to M Performance specifications". Oh, and the all-wheel drive system has been given a fiddle too, ensuring that more power is sent to the rear wheels.

There’s no word on pricing just yet, but BMW UK - which only sells diesel X4s in the UK at present - tells us that the X4 M40i won’t be making it to our shores. Is that a shame? Well, we’d certainly have one over the Audi RS Q3, but probably not a Porsche Macan or the incoming Jaguar F-Pace. So it’s safe to say we’ll cope just fine without this hotter X4.