The dream of BMW fans for an uncompromising Bavarian off-roader capable of conquering the harshest terrains on the planet seems to be finally going down in history. An open secret in the industry was the fact that in Munich they were hard at work preparing a direct response to the iconic Mercedes-Benz G-Class and the luxurious Range Rover. The large-scale development, known in internal circles by the code abbreviation G74 and the working name Rugged, however, never managed to receive the final green light from the board of directors.
The birth of this bold concept dates back several years ago, when the brand's engineering teams subjected the leading competitors in the segment, including the American Rivian R1T pickup, to a detailed dissection analysis. The initial concept envisioned the SUV to be based on the all-electric Neue Klasse architecture, with assembly to be entrusted to factories in Hungary or Mexico. Rumors in the industry even claim that the design department had developed a full-size mock-up, but it never got to the point of assembling a real test prototype.
The cooling of global interest in vehicles powered entirely by batteries forced the management of the concern to change course in motion. The design was transferred to the flexible CLAR platform, known from our well-known hits X5 and X7. This move would have allowed the implementation of plug-in hybrid drives, and the factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina, was considered a potential home for series production.
The interior of the expected three-row colossus promised to combine high-end luxury and practicality - a giant glass roof, a next-generation interactive interface and a folding tailgate, adapted for outdoor recreation. In the end, however, the cold calculations of financial analysts prevailed over the designer's enthusiasm. The huge investments required to develop such a niche model simply did not justify the commercial risk, especially against the background of timid sales forecasts in this narrow price segment.
At the moment, the Bavarian company is maintaining complete silence about the fate of the project in question. Although no one officially confirms the complete liquidation of the development, the premiere planned for the end of the decade is highly unlikely. For now, the Bavarian giant prefers to concentrate its resources on mass crossovers, leaving the battle in the extreme off-road segment to its traditional competitors from Mercedes.