Video: BMW XM crashes attempting to set Pikes Peak hill-climb race record

Footage has emerged of a BMW XM – the car-maker’s most powerful production car – crashing at the world's highest-altitude motor race, the Pikes Peak hill-climb in the US, more than four months after the incident occurred.

In June, BMW attempted to reset the record for a production SUV at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), a timed event up a 20km mountain pass in Colorado and a 1500-metre elevation change from bottom to top.

The German car maker set a goal of beating a time of 10 minutes and 32.064 seconds up the course – set by a Lamborghini Urus in 2022.

BMW’s chief performance-car driving instructor, Matt Mullins, piloted the XM Label Red SUV, which can produce up to 550kW and 1000Nm from its 4.4-litre twin-turbocharged petrol V8 and electric motor – making it the company’s most powerful production model ever.

After three practice runs which appeared to be within reach of the record, Mullins began his official timed attempt – but at the first of almost 40 checkpoints, the XM entered a corner too quickly and ran wide off the road.

With Mullins unable to recover the BMW XM after it entered a ditch at high speed, the SUV struck a tree and rolled, eventually landing back on all four wheels – while the tree it impacted fell to the ground, away from the vehicle.

Mullins emerged unscathed from the wreck, though the same could not be said for the BMW which suffered significant front-end damage, with its right-side front wheel torn away from the chassis.

While the damage was too much to be repaired for another record attempt on the same weekend, a BMW spokesperson told Motor1 at the time of the incident: “The focus now is on re-preparing the vehicle and planning for another record attempt later this summer.”

A second video detailing the Pikes Peak attempt is due to be released later this week.