BMW Reveals Secret ICE Concept With Odd Styling

BMW tested the waters with the X6 concept during the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show, and just a year later, the production version of the coupe-SUV was launched. We doubt BMW had an idea at the time the X6 will become one of the brand’s best-selling vehicles over the next 14 years and, as much as we don’t like high-riding coupe-shaped vehicles, we have to admit the X6 was a very smart move. But a few years before BMW’s first SAV hit the dealerships, the design team at the company experimented with a similar idea.

The latest video from the BMW Group Classic channel on YouTube is actually a pretty special one. It shows us two never seen before concepts of BMW, and the highlight of the clip is the so-called BMW ICE concept. It represents a very unique mix between a coupe, a roadster, and an SUV. And if you are wondering about the ICE name - no, it doesn’t come from internal combustion engine. It stands for Integrated Concept Engineering.

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It was based on the chassis of the X5, which was combined with the interior of the Z4 with two additional small seats added at the back. In fact, it followed the recipe of the BMW X-Coupe concept from 2001 that can be best described as “a coupe and an X in one vehicle.” However, the ICE prototype was never shown to the public and is basically making its world premiere now, some 17 years after it was designed.

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Interestingly, most of the design concept for the ICE was shaped at BMW’s Californian design center. The Bavarian company wanted to get different input from designers knowing more about the Malibu lifestyle. The result was a two-door, four-seat jacked-up sports car riding on the proven underpinnings of the X5. 

You can learn more about this secret concept from the video at the top of this page. As a little teaser, we’ll say the roofline is not just aesthetically shaped as it actually allows for two mountain bikes to be loaded into the cargo area.

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