BMW expanding its M treatment from cars to SUVs and maybe motorcycles (or Sports Activity Vehicles in BMW parlance). The New York Auto Show marks the world debut of the BMW X5 M and BMW X6 M, and in typical M fashion, the high riders get substantially more power than their more pedestrian variants. Both vehicles get uprated versions of the 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8 that debuted in the X6 last year. Power goes from a mere 400 hp up to 555 hp in M form with torque swelling from 450 to 500 lb-ft all transferred to the ultra wide tires. While the increase in twist doesn’t seem like all that much, BMW is claiming it’s produced from 1,500 all the way to 5,650 rpm. The 4.4-liter V8 is direct  injected and like other such engines with turbos, torque aplenty is the result.

Like the standard version of the V8, the M variant has the intakes on the outside of the cylinder heads with the exhaust and twin turbos planted in the valley between the banks. This new version sports a revised exhaust manifold that combines the flow from both banks into the duo of twin scroll turbochargers.