According to the report from the wily spy shooters of KGP, they happened upon a group of BMW engineers out testing the new BMW X6 who'd run into a bit of trouble in the 128-degree heat of a "desolate California road." We'll let KGP take over from here:
" As the preoccupied testers prepared to hook up a tow line to its X5 support vehicle, they accidently left the prototype's rear hatch open, revealing the true slope of the X6's backlight thanks to a timely sequence of drive-by shots. It is now completely clear exactly how much of the rear camouflage is simply a hard plastic shell. That is to say—most of it.
This detail is particularly interesting on the X6, because BMW is applying an aggressive application of the four-door-coupe concept first seen on the Mercedes CLS, to the SUV genre. There have been a number of performance-minded SUVs on offer, but the X6 is taking a unique styling approach which appears to be the most form-over-function SUV design effort seen to date. The roof line begins arching downward after the B-pillar and continues plunging right to the X6's rising waistline. Second-row headroom and rear cargo volume are both severely compromised as a result."
Despite the giveaways offered by the spy shots, it's still hard for us to determine the overall design of the X6, but the look we've now got due to these shots certainly makes it easier.
Related:
Spy Photos: New BMW X6 Mule; BMW's Luxury Sport Crossover: Focus Group Attendee Confirms AutoBild Spec Shot of 2008 BMW X6 [internal]