BMW has unveiled the new X5, and the design of the fifth generation of the SUV is already making waves — especially for a detail at the front. The set of daytime running lights (DRL) adopts an “X” shape that refers, almost literally, to the logo of Elon Musk’s social network, the former Twitter.
The third model to debut the new design language of the Neue Klasse platform — after the iX3 and i3 — the X5 maintains the brand’s familiar lines, but distances itself from its brothers precisely in the lights. While the two electric vehicles bet on simpler and more angled features, the new SUV features “X” shaped units whose resemblance to the visual identity of Musk’s company borders on frightening.
The coincidence goes beyond the outline. On the left side, the DRL design presents a “void” in the line that cuts the set, replicating angles very close to those of the platform’s logo. On the right side, the layout is the same, just mirrored. Once the observer notices the resemblance, it is difficult to look at the SUV and not associate it with the “X”.
In addition to aesthetics, BMW has given functionality to the set: the daytime running lights also fulfill the role of direction indicators. In practice, whenever the driver activates the turn signal or hazard lights, an illuminated “X” flashes in front of the vehicle, giving the SUV a peculiar night signature.
Unlike the iX3 and i3, which are purely electric, the new X5 arrives with the widest range of engines ever offered in a model of the brand: gasoline and diesel versions, plug-in hybrid and, for the first time, the electric iX5, in addition to a hydrogen variant planned for later on. Production begins in August at the Spartanburg plant in the United States, which the automaker dubbed the “Home of X” at the model’s world premiere.
It’s not yet clear why BMW chose this particular solution, moving away from the more restrained traits of the iX3 and i3. The most likely bet is to give the largest SUV in the line its own signature. What is known is that the German automaker ended up stamping the letter-symbol of one of the biggest icons in the technology sector even before Tesla itself thought of something similar for its headlights. It remains to be seen whether the market — and Musk himself — will approve the luminous “tribute” in the streets.
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