When you have a winning formula, you shouldn’t mess with it. If there’s one automaker that understands its role in the marketplace with the utmost clarity it’s BMW. Even as it has grown its product range, BWM has stayed true its heritage. I have to admit that I was a little skeptical the Bavarian automaker could keep this heritage intact when it expanded into SUVs and crossovers, but most of their efforts have produced vehicles that have lived up to their promise. The key word here is most. BMW has had some hiccups on the road to expansion, as would be expected. Now it has introduced the X6, a four-door sports coupe married with an SUV. Is it another hiccup or a success?

Visually, the X6 pushes BMW’s design to the limit, resulting in an exterior that’s sexy, yet muscular. The front fascia is unmistakably BMW, with its dual kidney grille and cat’s eye headlamps that sweep into the side panels. But the drama really takes root when viewed from the 3/4 side angle, where the short overhangs, high waist line, bulging wheel arches and trademark “Hofmeister kink” at the bottom of the D-pillar window frame accentuate its sporting nature; the aggressive shape of the roofline gives the X6 a tall forehead that that flows seamlessly into a rear fascia that accentuates the wide stance.

While the exterior design breaks new ground for BMW, the interior of the X6 is rather lackluster, looking like the same interior bits from any other member of the corporate family rearranged. Some would say that’s a good thing, but when you have created a vehicle that is so outside the limits of tradition, you should give it an interior that continues ion that vein. The quality of the materials is top-notch, but the switchgear on the radio and HVAC controls felt cheap. BMW needs to address this quickly.

As one would expect with a performance vehicle brand like BMW, the real test comes on the road. With the X6, BMW has surpassed its own high-water mark for performance. The 3.5-liter 6-cylinder engine has twin-turbos, produces 300 horsepower and 300 lb-ft. of torque, and is the base engine. That may not seem like a lot of power for a vehicle the size of the X6—4,894 lbs. and 192-in. long—but the turbos boost low end power to a robust V8-like level, making the V8-powered X6 50i somewhat redundant.

Yet, what’s most impressive about the X6 isn’t the power or the design, it’s the handling. BMW is using the X6 as the platform to debut its “Dynamic Performance Control” technology, a.k.a. torque vectoring, and will move this technology across to other platforms as they are renwed. This technology shifts torque between the right and left rear wheels as needed, keeping the X6 firmly planted in just about any scenario. It proved itself when taking the X6 through the curves of a race track, where it seemed impossible to unstick. To call it amazing is an understatement.

Conclusion:

The X6 is a feast for the eyes, and a winner when it comes to performance. If only the cockpit was handled with as much attention to detail as everything else, it would be nearly perfect.