RUMOR: BMW X5, X6, And X7 Will Lose V8 Engine Options

A new rumor has emerged claiming that the V8 engine will "likely" soon be dropped from the lineups of the BMW X5, its fastback coupe sibling, the X6, and the luxury seven-seater X7. The rumor comes from 'ynguldyn,' an anonymous but oft-accurate insider who regularly provides insight into future BMW products on the Bimmerpost forum.

According to the post, this change will affect the next-generation G65, G66, and G67 models of the X5, X6, and X7, respectively. In place of the V8, the M60e xDrive with its B58 straight-six engine will become the top-tier option.

If this proves to be accurate, we suspect BMW will cite efforts to reduce emissions in light of incoming Euro 7 regulations as the cause for the V8's death. As a reminder, these regulations are scheduled to come into effect in 2025.

All of this suggests that the death of the V8 will not affect the American market - at least, not yet. Our M60i models are expected to soldier on for another generation.

But what of the S58 V8-powered X5 M and X6 M? If regular V8 models are being culled to meet emissions regulations, the M-fettled V8 may be unable to meet them either, right? Wrong. BMW's Markus Flasch, head of high-end products, said in 2021 that both the straight-six and the V8 would be clean enough to meet 2025 regulations, meaning that they will still be around in 2030.

In addition, our Bimmerpost user claims that the X5 M will survive until at least July 2033, while the X6 M will only be killed off after March 2035. We hope this is accurate.

This rumor also lends credence to other reports, like one from March of this year that claimed BMW would continue to develop new combustion engines specifically for SUVs. Our guess is that the new engines will be even more powerful (yet much cleaner) straight-sixes that are designed with electrification in mind.

Basically, it appears that all SUVs bigger than the X3/X4 will soon lose access to V8s unless those products are full M cars. BMW has gone this route before, and not long ago, either. The latest 5 Series has no V8 - the M550i has effectively been replaced by the electric i5 eDrive M60 - but the M5 will still get an M-fettled plug-in hybrid V8 borrowed from the XM Label Red.

Time is clearly running out for the combustion engine, but at least BMW is doing everything possible to keep it with us for another decade.