We all know that the X6 ///M has a lot of power thanks to the 555hp twin-turbo V8 under the hood but it really is a vehicle that is greater than the sum of its visible parts. The engineering in the engine is astonishing as we learned here last year but the rest of the drivetrain is also exceptional as this video shows. BMW beefed up the drivetrain and invented the technology of cylinder deactivation between shifts to lessen the blow to the transmission, differential and all wheel drive system. Without the deactivation (which creates the strange sounding exhaust notes) the torque and overall dead weight of 5,000+lbs would break something before the massive tires would spin free.

The ///M engineers also spent a lot of time working on the shift algorithms in Sport Mode so that it would shift at the right time and do so with near the speed of a DCT. In my time with the engineers last year it was even noted that a driver can ‘t be as quick or as precise as the algorithms in most instances, just slap the stick to the left and let it do its job we were told- from my experience as a passenger with Bernd Limmer (Technical Designer and BMW test driver) there was no need to use the paddles.

We usually do not promote videos like that above as BMWs are not designed for drag racing but I found it great that such a large vehicle could move so quick and knowing all that went into designing the driveline package gave me a big smile as only BMW can.

Video: Youtube via BimmerPost