This spartan, militaristic test mule, caught recently by spy photog Hans G Lehmann, isn't a new VW Thing, or some new Hummer competitor — it's a BMW, and a 6-Series at that. Last March, at the Geneva auto show, the company announced its intention to develop a crossover coupe (as in 4-doors, like the Mercerdes CLS), based on the X5 — likely to be called the, brace yourselves, X6. This, according to Lehmann is it, sans body. It'll likely be the first in a relatively pointless new genre of expensive, sporty, SUV coupes, or "Exsposupes." Watch for it.

Incidentally, one cool feature of these early testers is a modular frame that allows engineers to configure and reconfigure a car's weight-carrying elements to determine the optimal setup for road manners. Neat-o.

Spy Shots: 08 BMW X6 [The Car Connection]

Related:
Frankfurt Preview: Porsche Panamera [internal]

Contact information for this author is not available.