Listen to the 2020 BMW X5 M Competition’s savage 617-horsepower V8

The new 2020 BMW X5 M Competition takes BMW’s X5 M crossover to a new level of madness with 617 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque. That comes thanks to its 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 that’s even more potent than the non-Competition X5 M that makes a measly 600 horsepower.

BMW provides a number of extras for the Competition version of the X5 M, and one of those is an especially loud adjustable M Sport exhaust system. 

Just watch the above video clip, and we’re sure you’ll soon be in love. The big quad exhaust with black-painted tips looks positively menacing poking out the back, and the gigantic 315-section-width rear tires add to the effect.

From the second this car starts up, there’s no ignoring the noise. It only quiets down on the highway when cruising, as well-tuned factory exhausts tend to do. But lean on the throttle, and it barks back instantly. From the outside, the X5 M Competition roars mightily on full throttle and even emits some turbo whistling and whooshing on occasion. However, it is devoid of crackles and pops, unlike other BMWs with loud exhaust systems. That’s totally fine, because the volume and exhaust note is spectacular.

Inside the car, BMW gives passengers a slightly different experience. But it’s not as drastic a difference as we found in the M340i. The engine quivers and revs with utter smoothness and speed — maximum torque stretches 170 rpm higher than the standard X5 M. An X5 M50i may only be 0.4 second slower to 60 mph than the X5 M Competition, but the full-M engine is far more visceral and savage in the way it pulls this big crossover around at any rpm. The sound is mechanical bliss and fills the cabin, vibrating in your ears. It’s a joyous melody, one we could listen to lap-after-lap if we were to use this car for its engineered purpose.

Won’t be driving this X5 M Competition today (summer tires!) but it sure does sound sinister in the driveway. Side note: this thing looks awesome. @therealautoblog pic.twitter.com/buKgoceCqj

— Zac Palmer (@zacpalmerr) April 17, 2020

A button to swap between loud and louder modes is located next to the gear lever, but we only quieted it down to see what it was like. The verdict? Leave the extra loud mode on. This exhaust is too good to be muffled.

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