BMW announced the X5 Silver Anniversary Edition a few months ago. BMW splashed pictures of the limited edition X5 traipsing throughout the trails, covered in dirt but without missing a beat – thanks, in part, to trim-specific off-road spec tires. Mysteriously, however, your Silver Anniversary Edition X5 won’t show up to the dealership wearing that off-road rubber. We chatted with a BMW insider and learned a little more about the details and possibilities BMW considered – and didn’t consider – for the model’s 25th anniversary.
But First: Wasn’t There Another Offroad Package?
It’s not proof positive of the Mandela Effect – BMW has offered an off-road package once before, briefly, on the G05 X5. Called the xOffroad Package, it was available for model year 2019 and 2020 vehicles. It was discontinued for 2021, due to low customer demand. Our insider says that demand was low “possibly due to its fairly high price and lack of visual differentiation.” Discontinuation of a low-take package also simplified ordering in general.
Homologation, A/T Tires, and More
That only matters because it ties into our follow-up question, which was – essentially – was there any serious consideration for more purposeful off-roading X5 packaging? While the additional underbody protection, roof rack, and specialized drive modes are cool, it’s still a bit shy of what some other automakers have done – like Lexus and their GX Overtrail. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like it was in the cards, at least not on BMW’s side. Nothing more aggressive was planned for the Silver Anniversary or xOffroad Package.
According to our source, “It would have amounted to a lot of effort and expense disproportionate to such a limited production vehicle. Suspension designs that could have offered even greater off-road capability were outside the scope of the Anniversary Edition owing to cost (development and impact on MSRP), complexity, timing, and potential homologation obstacles for a limited production model.”
We also were curious why the X5’s all-terrain tires don’t ship with the vehicle. In case you didn’t know, they’re technically a dealer-installed option. One good reason is that not all buyers (we’d guess most) need or want the tires. But the reason from BMW’s side makes sense, too. Despite being the same size as the selections on the normal X5’s tire menu, they were not homologated for sale. Homologation is length and not inexpensive – it’s no wonder BMW didn’t want to go through with it.
Of course, from here, the natural follow-up question might be “why celebrate 25 years of the X5 with a package that had a historically low take rate?” But, we’ll let that one slide. We’d rather have a little off-road capability – and sense of occasion – than none at all. And the X5 Silver Anniversary Edition is exactly that. Happy 25th birthday, X5!