The annual Topsfield Fair is America’s oldest fair. This year it celebrated its 100th anniversary. There were crappy rides, fatty and sugary foods, interesting shows, and cheap prizes. There was also the biggest pumpkin, livestock, horses, and human cannonball guy. All typical fair stuff. Because I have kids I have to endure this misery every year.
After an hour of creeping at 0.2mph to a $10 parking spot a mile from the entrance, I spotted the most interesting thing I would see that day. It was a modified BMW X5. But it was modified for the purposes of off-roading. The most unusual thing was the [very] high clearance front bumper with a winch.
The bumper appeared to be very custom made. It included off-road lights and what looks like a skid-plate covering up the radiator and the front of the engine. There was the mandatory LED roof light bar, too. All-terrain tires in stock size finished off the package. Oddly, headrests were removed from the seats.
A bike rack finished off this overland-y bimmer. It was interesting, certainly looked to be made with a purpose rather than just having a bunch of random parts on it.
V.I.S.I.T.: Off-roady BMW X5
About
11 responses to “V.I.S.I.T.: Off-roady BMW X5”
-
My immediate thought was “Bayformer”. (That’s not complimentary.)
-
Doesn’t look like it has any more clearance, in fact that winch mount may be worse than stock. I wouldn’t start with one of these for offroading – anyone remember the Ewan McGregor Long Way Down trip had an X5 support vehicle that snapped a cast-aluminium suspension arm in half?
-
Lol I own those DVDs. Good point!
-
The approach angle looks, challenged, to say the least, it has a heck of a chin sticking out there. Maybe he added some auxiliary coolers in front of the radiator.
-
-
Isn’t this a (one of many) car(s) Jeremy Clarkson loved to hate?
-
When I see caked mud on the undercarriage and scratches and dents all over the body, then I’ll believe it.
-
Caked mud underneath? Scratches and dents all over? My 944 is an overlander!
-
I have an 07 x3. I use it to gather firewood, among other things. That includes towing over some pretty serious uneven ground in the national forest, completely off road at points. These are amazingly capable vehicles. Of course, the off road operational window is smaller. I’m not going to take on a technical off road trail, but I can also take a 2000 mile road trip in the vehicle and not feel like I’ve been punched in the head. The internet can continue crapping on these older x vehicles, but if you look past the badge and the stigma, the older ones, without all the electronics, are quite robust and easy to work on.
-
Now I’ll believe that! Used and abused as intended.
I mean, why wear hiking boots everywhere if you never leave city sidewalks?-
I recall a review of a pair of hiking boots in an issue of Popular Mechanics, or some similar mag, that said something to the effect of “…the most uneven terrain these boots will ever cover is the trek from the Prius to the craft brewery…” It still makes me smile.
-
-
-
-
Reminiscent of the Cayenne Brendan McAleer wrote about recently (if more clearly homebuilt). I hate the luxury SUV market, but the future availability of overly complicated safari/rally builds is a small silver lining.
https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/images/brendan-mca-10-1538409041.jpg
Leave a Reply