If you aren't a fan of red trim on the new BMW XM, perhaps something a bit brighter would tickle your fancy? For folks at Coachella 2023 in California, BMW will make sure nobody misses its new high-performance SUV thanks to a chrome wrap front to back.
It's not simply there for show, either. This is BMW's fifth appearance at the annual arts and music festival, and as such, artists will spend some time with the shiny XM. The automaker says Grammy award-winning singer Nija Charles will be one of several notable artists recording their first encounter with the sizable SUV. It's not immediately clear what these encounters will lead to, but ambiguity is part of the creative process.
"Our goal at BMW is to be at the heart of where creative magic happens," said Stefan Ponikva, BMW vice president of brand communication and brand experience. "We want to enable artists – musicians, designers, actors, storytellers – to express themselves and to interact with our brand and our latest, already widely desired launch: the first-ever BMW XM. Coachella is an excellent platform through which to develop fresh conversations with talented emerging artists as well as established stars.
Ironically, the chrome BMW XM's appearance at Coachella 2023 revolves around the recent debut of the Label Red edition, which normally sports a plethora of red trim. It's the ultimate evolution of the new XM that debuted last year as BMW's first standalone M vehicle since the iconic M1 bowed out in 1981. Whereas that car was a sleek two-door, mid-engine sports car, the XM is a three-ton, two-row SUV that packs a hybrid powertrain featuring a twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 and a single electric motor. In standard guise, it generates 644 hp. But the Label Red version ups the ante to 738 hp thanks to engine upgrades.
It's unclear if any special-edition versions will eventually sprout from this year's Coachella event. Model and actor Naomi Campbell is already working with BMW on a one-off XM as part of the company's Dare to be You campaign. Coachella is part of that campaign, so perhaps we'll see more individualized XMs in the weeks and months to come.
