Thank heavens BMW resisted the urge to grab the new XM with eye-searing paint colors. Instead, it has the typical blacks, whites, and grays, but it does have a bright red (Toronto Red Metallic) and a deep blue (Marina Bay Blue metallic) hue at no extra cost. The eccentric madness of options starts with the wheels — the XM’s 23-inch M Light alloys in gold (pictured above), which is a unique touch for a large SUV. Thankfully, you can have the same wheels in a more subdued steel gray option, and the standard 22-inch rollers are not that bad.

The BMW XM gets a standard Merino cowhide upholstery with a black-on-black theme, but the $1,500 Sakhir Orange leather option is worth every penny, standing out even more with a combined black accent. For $1,000 more, however, the Silverstone gray leather with a vintage coffee ceiling and door panels is a refreshing aesthetic. However, BMW’s vintage coffee interior theme looks best with the Deep Lagoon teal leather upholstery (pictured above), which costs the same at $2,500.

BMW

BMW wants XM buyers to go crazier with its NightGold Metallic exterior trim, a no-cost styling option that matches well with the gold wheels. The package includes a gold-metallic accent band that runs from ahead of the A-pillars and wraps around the side windows (pictured above), the outer border of the front kidney grilles, and the rear diffuser. Another no-cost option is M Sport Brakes with blue or red calipers, and exclusive M logos.

With base prices starting at $160,00, the all-new BMW XM is a big, bold, powerful SUV that screams money and privilege. It exists in a world littered with Lambos, Aston Martins, Maybachs, Bentleys, and Rolls-Royces, but none feels more forward-looking as the XM.

As any aviation enthusiast will tell you, the name “de Havilland” is synonymous with the history of the jet engine. The British de Havilland Comet was the first of its kind — a jet airliner that would revolutionize air travel and pave the way for other airliners to follow. Its first prototype launched in 1949, according to the Royal Air Force Museum. After two disasters, the result of structrual deficiencies, the Comet 1 was retired.

But the Soviet Union unleashed its own jet airliner: the Tupolev TU-104. The body of a TU-16, another Soviet bomber, was adapted to add more passenger space inside, and the aircraft switched from a military to a commercial capacity. 

In authorities’ zeal to put the Soviet stamp on the history of global jet travel, about 10,000 staff members worked on the plane, and its flight debut occurred several weeks earlier than originally intended. This seemed to mean, though, that testing wasn’t as rigorous as it could have been, and the aircraft was plagued by problems as a result.

According to Apple, all of the videos and photos captured using the Vision Pro’s 3D camera will offer a more immersive experience compared to content captured with ordinary content. That’s not to say that you can’t experience your existing Photos library with the headset, however, and Apple notes that panoramas can be viewed wrapped around the user — though only if those panoramas were captured with an iPhone, by the sounds of it.

The content appears within large windows placed in the user’s own environment, meaning the videos are watched on a large virtual screen that, in a way, is like a huge living painting positioned in one’s living room or office. These videos can be played alongside other apps available on the Apple Vision Pro, and they include expected controls like the ability to scrub through the videos, pause videos, expand photos to larger sizes, and similar. To no one’s surprise, the camera and headset both play well with other Apple products like FaceTime, as well.