It’s fair to say that plenty of BMW’s designs in recent years have raised a few eyebrows.
Displayed by cars such as the XM Label Red (pictured), the grilles have been getting ever larger, and the bodykits ever more aggressive, as the brand explores a new design direction – something that has led to considerable controversy.
However, in reality, car manufacturers have been experimenting with new design and conceptual ideas for decades, with varied results. Therefore, cars like the XM only join an increasing pantheon of vehicles that have shocked, surprised and sometimes just plain impressed us – let’s take a look:
Lamborghini LM002 (1986)
An esteemed company known for making two-seater supercars steps out of bounds and comes back with an SUV. Sound familiar? It’s par for the course today, but it was an unbelievable plot twist when Lamborghini released the LM002 in 1986.
The LM002 project started when Lamborghini tried securing a contract to manufacture an off-roader for the US Army. Heavy and rear-engined, its Cheetah prototype was unimpressive at best. Officials gave the contract to AM General’s Humvee instead. Lamborghini wasn’t in a position to waste time or money, so it used the knowledge gained during the Cheetah project to develop the LM002, its first SUV. Lamborghini unveil its second SUV, the 600bhp V8 Urus, in late 2017.
GMC Syclone (1991)
Forget the low-rider looks; the GMC Syclone is actually a factory-built hot rod with a surprising amount of power under the bonnet. Starting with a Sonoma pickup, GMC added a turbocharged 4.3-litre V6 developed specifically for the model and coupled it to a four-speed automatic transmission. The six-cylinder made 280hp.
Car & Driver magazine believed General Motors’ truck-building division had a Ferrari killer on its hands, so it headed to a drag strip to test its hypothesis. Helped by a rear-biased all-wheel drive system, the Syclone famously beat a 348TS in a quarter-mile race.
General Motors EV1 (1996)
You would expect a start-up, not General Motors, to launch a car like the EV1. Its forward-thinking, flying saucer-like design was only the beginning. The EV1 used a 137hp electric motor connected to a 16.5kWh battery. Aluminium and plastic reduced its weight to approximately 1400kg.
GM offered the EV1 through a lease program in select US states. It cancelled the project in 2003, citing the impossibility of producing such an advanced car profitably. Customers protested as they reluctantly returned the cars. Most of the 1147 examples built ended up recycled, which spurred dramatic conspiracy theories. GM CEO Rick Wagoner later said that the cancellation of the EV1 project was his biggest professional regret.
Buick GNX (1987)
Buick isn’t the brand that comes to mind when you think of performance, unless you’re thinking about performance during a golf tournament for their drivers. And yet, in the 1980s General Motors’ semi-premium brand made its homely Regal faster than a Chevrolet Camaro.
The Grand National made its debut in 1982 to celebrate Buick’s success in NASCAR racing. The original car’s 4.1-litre V6 could only muster up 125hp. Buick axed the nameplate in 1983 but brought it back in 1984 with 200hp from a turbocharged 3.8-litre V6. Power gradually increased leading up to the 1987 GNX, one of Buick’s most collectible models.