BMW's full-size SUVs get the M treatment

BMW X5 Special Edition with M Sport Package. (BMW Group AG)

New special edition versions of the X5 and its coupé brethren the X6 have been unveiled ahead of the LA Auto Show.

In recent weeks, Porsche has launched an all-new Cayenne, Land Rover has seriously overhauled the Range Rover Sport and Mercedes has detailed new, more opulent versions of its flagship GLS SUV.

Therefore, it's only logical that BMW follows suit by offering new versions of its current flagship off-roaders (or Sports Activity Vehicles, as the firm prefers to call them) that up the exclusivity, quality and performance.

The X5 Special Edition gets the company's M Sport package -- a more aggressive external body kit complete with ‘M' badging and special alloy wheels, plus a lowered stiffer suspension set-up -- as standard outside equipment.

Meanwhile the interior benefits from Dakota leather trim and heated seats for the driver and front passenger. Clients can opt for seats finished in a combination of Alcantara and leather at no extra cost and can plump for a multifunction instrument display with digital aspects.

Go for the X6 M Sport Edition, which, thanks to having a coupé roofline already looks sportier and more potent than many SUVs on the market, and owners will get an exclusive Long Beach Blue metallic paint finish as standard plus 20-inch M light alloy wheels. The rear set are wider than those at the front for optimum grip and so the car can also be specified with run-flat tires.

Inside the cabin gets carbon fiber trim pieces and like the X5 can be specified with a multifunction instrument display and seats finished in a combination of Alcantara and leather.

The limited edition models can be ordered with any current X5 or X6 powertrain (other than the M50d diesel unit), and the order books will open in December as the LA Auto Show gets underway.