OFFERING an insight into the possible design of the forthcoming BMW X6, the Concept X6 unveiled at the Frankfurt motor show opens up another untapped market segment, the Sports Activity Coupe.

The Concept X6 also showcases ActiveHybrid, the world's most advanced hybrid technology and an integral facet of BMW's Efficient- Dynamics philosophy.

The BMW Concept X6 is the first car in the world to combine the elegant, flowing lines of a coupe with the safety and convenience of the command driving position in a 4x4 - unless you look at Jean-Louis Schlesser's buggies used on the Dakar Rally! Unashamedly bold in its styling, the Concept X6 takes a number of classic BMW design cues - kidney grilles, double headlamps, Hofmeister kink - and combines them in a dramatic fourdoor coupe form.

From the front, large air intakes on the outer reaches of the front bumper highlight the cooling requirements of the engine and are split horizontally by chrome-coloured bars that incorporate the round fog lamps.

The dual round headlights, with their sharply cut design at the top, express a particularly intense and focused look.

From the side, the unique design and proportions of the Concept X6 are immediately apparent.

Its tapering roofline and long rear body overhang give the car a stretched coupe silhouette.

The roofline reaches its highest point directly behind the steering wheel and its shape is complemented by the one-piece chrome window surrounds and the absence of door pillars.

The exterior mirrors on the BMW Concept X6 are of a similarly innovative design.

Made of two pieces with the lower piece finished in body colour, a strip of lights is mounted in between the two pieces.

This illumination supplements the corona ring day-running lights, now a trademark of BMW design.

The Concept X6 also features uniquelystyled 21in Y-spoke alloy wheels that fill the nearly-square profile wheel arches.

In the X6 Concept the introduction of BMW's ActiveHybrid technology marks the latest landmark in BMW's development of hybrid technologies.

BMW started work on electric drivetrain research with the BMW E1 in the late 1980s and has been working on hybrid technology and its various options for more than 15 years.

Most recently, hybrid technology has been introduced as an integral part of the BMW EfficientDynamics programme.

Working alongside Global Hybrid Cooperation partners General Motors and DaimlerChrysler, the BMW ActiveHybrid combines two compact, high-performance electric motors connected to one another by three planetary gear sets, a fixed-transmission ratio gearbox and a high-performance battery.

This delivers benefits over low and high speed ranges.

The result is a reduction in fuel consumption by up to 20 per cent compared with a comparable BMW running on a combustion engine alone.

The BMW Concept X6 ActiveHybrid can be driven on electric power only, on the combustion engine alone, or with a combination of both power units.

Depending on driving conditions, the electric motors can also be used for both accelerating and regenerative braking.

In the case of brake regeneration, the brake forces, created when coasting and when applying the brakes, supply power to the high-voltage energy storage unit to provide an increase in electric power.

A similar philosophy has already been seen in BMW's Brake Energy Regeneration systems in almost all of today's BMW model ranges.

The new BMW Concept X6 plays host to a plethora of world firsts - the world's first Sports Activity Coupe, the first car with BMW ActiveHybrid technology and the first car to be fitted with Dynamic Performance Control.