BMW announces the Dune Taxi, a 536-horsepower electric off-roader.

BMW recently teased an electric off-road racer called the Dune Taxi in a promotional video released by its Middle East division.

BMW has not made an official announcement about the Dune Taxi, nor has it revealed where it will be raced, but the vehicle resembles the Odyssey 21 used in the Extreme E Series; in the video BMW says the body is made of the same natural fiber reinforced polymers, just like the Odyssey 21.

However, the specs are slightly different: BMW claims that the Dune Taxi produces 536 hp, which is slightly less than the 550 hp Extreme E that the Odyssey 21 claims to produce in race trim. .7 inches of suspension travel, the latter figure being slightly greater than the figures the Extreme E quotes for the Odyssey 21.

Still, the specs for the Dune Taxi and the Odyssey 21 are close. Or perhaps BMW will bring the Dune Taxi to the Dakar Rally to compete against the Audi RS Q E-Tron, an electric car that has just been upgraded to E2 specifications with redesigned bodywork and tweaks to optimize energy efficiency. [The BMW X6 M Competition and iX M60 also make cameo appearances. Toward the end of the video, the Dune Taxi slaloms around a two-wheeled E53-generation X5 and climbs a 130-degree dune incline.

The video ends with the unveiling of the BMW Concept XM SUV, the production version of which will be unveiled on September 27. Powered by a twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V-8 engine in a plug-in hybrid configuration with an estimated maximum output of approximately 750 hp, the XM is likely to be BMW's most powerful production vehicle to date.