BMW trio spotted during hot weather testing in Dubai

With summer now at its high point, manufacturers have begun to take their test cars to location far away from the European heartland to do hot weather testing. The latest to join this rush is BMW which has been snapped testing a trio of vehicles on the roads of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. This trio comprises a new X5, 8 Series coupe and a Rolls Royce Cullinan.

BMW X5

This current generation of the X5 has been around since late 2013 and is the third generation for the German automaker’s mid-size SUV. This test vehicle is expected to be the next generation and will likely make its debut sometime in 2019. The car spotted in the picture sports the traditional SUV look, a trait that has defined the X5 range since its inception in 1999. It is expected to be offered with a range of petrol and diesel engines as well as hybrid and pure electric options when it is launched. 

BMW 8 Series 

This new two-door coupe was showcased in concept form last month and is expected to debut sometime next year in full production guise. However, we suspect that the latter won’t stray too far from the concept car. In essence, the 8 Series is BMW’s attempt to put itself into the league of grand tourers once again and revives a moniker last used in the early 1990s for a similarly styled vehicle. 

Rolls-Royce Cullinan 

This vehicle will be the luxury automaker’s first high riding model (ever) and will take on the likes of the Bentley Bentayga as well as some of the really expensive models from the Range Rover family. As the company has hinted, this will look like a high riding Phantom rather than an SUV and will sport the same engine and underpinning options as the former when launched in 2018.