Frankfurt Auto Show: X6 Hybrid
Sept. 11, 2007

BMW's first-ever hybrid, the X6 ActiveHybrid. Click on images for larger views.
BMW's X6 crossover is getting double the attention at the Frankfurt auto show — with the simultaneous debuts of a regular model plus a hybrid model.
With the ActiveHybrid X6, BMW's first-ever hybrid, the automaker set out to prove fuel efficiency and sporty driving dynamics do not have to be mutually exclusive.
The technology is the result of a joint project with General Motors and DaimlerChrysler. The ActiveHybrid X6 can be driven on electric power only, on combustion power only, or on a combination of the two. BMW claims fuel efficiency that is 20-percent greater than that of a comparable gas-only vehicle.
A major highlight is BMW's two-mode active transmission, which has a mode for setting off and driving at low speeds, and a mode for higher speeds. It is based on the concept of a continuously variable transmission.
The ActiveHybrid's styling differs from the regular X6,

The rear protector plate moves to
cover the exhaust pipes when the
ActiveHybrid X6 is in electric mode.
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in particular, by foregoing big air scoops on the front for engine cooling, and by a lower aluminum plate on the back that moves to cover the exhaust pipes when in electric mode (see photos at right).
The ActiveHybrid X6 is the latest — and probably the biggest — step in BMW's EfficientDynamics program, which seeks to find energy-saving efficiencies wherever possible.
Click on the images below for larger views.
Also see: Frankfurt Auto Show: X6 Revealed!,
X6 Photos






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