BMW never built a V10 X5, so a streetwear brand built one instead
Kith just gave a first-generation X5 the M5's V10, and a manual gearbox.
Kith founder Ronnie Fieg spent over a year swapping a 2000 X5's engine for the E60 M5's 5.0-litre S85 V10, producing 500hp through a six-speed manual. It debuts alongside a special one-off 2027 X5 during Monterey Car Week.
What actually changed under the skin
The swap drops in the naturally aspirated 5.0-litre S85 V10, the same unit used in the E60 M5 and E63 M6, rated at 500hp (373kW) and 519Nm (383lb-ft) of torque, sent through a six-speed manual gearbox. It is the first time this drivetrain has gone into an SUV. The X5 keeps its factory fixed-ratio all-wheel-drive system, an earlier setup than the xDrive system BMW introduced on the same generation in 2004, since the donor car is a 2000 model. Kith has also fitted what it describes as “BMW M performance elements,” which likely means uprated brakes and reworked suspension, though the exact parts have not been detailed.
A year-long, full rotisserie rebuild
The X5 was stripped to bare metal for a complete rotisserie restoration, a process that took over a year from start to finish. Fieg called it “the most detailed and intensive rebuild out of all the BMW projects I've worked on.” Kith says the aim was to “pay homage to its original form, while optimizing it for ultimate driving performance.”
The look leans into the original, not a caricature of it
The exterior wears factory Titanium Silver Metallic, the E53's original launch colour. Photos from the build process, shared on Kith's Instagram, point to a bodykit with wide fenders, side skirts and deeper bumpers, running on five-spoke alloy wheels with blue brake calipers, though the final specification has not been confirmed. Inside, there is a custom instrument cluster with a recalibrated tachometer, stretched to match the V10's 8,250rpm redline, alongside Kith branding.
The X5 never had a real M version to begin with
The closest the original E53 lineup ever got to a proper M car were the V8-powered 4.6is, sold from 2001 to 2003 with 342hp, and the facelifted 4.8is that followed through 2006 with 355hp, plus a one-off V12-powered X5 Le Mans prototype with its own manual gearbox. None of them carried a genuine M badge. Today's X5 M exists, decades later, which makes the gap in the original lineup exactly the kind of thing a determined enough outsider eventually fills in.
It will not debut alone
Kith and BMW are also revealing a one-off 2027 X5, built on the new Neue Klasse platform, finished in an exclusive Frozen Titanium Silver inspired by the restomod's colour. BMW has not confirmed any other differences from the standard production model, and it remains unclear whether either car will ever reach production, though past Kith collaborations have resulted in limited runs. Both cars debut at the BMW Villa in Pebble Beach during Monterey Car Week, sharing the display with two more restomods, a 1972 3.0 CSi and a 1987 M6 E24, both finished in Inka Orange with beige interiors as part of the same showcase rather than the Kith project itself.
This is not Kith and BMW's first rodeo
The two have built a real back catalogue together: a limited-edition 2021 M4 Competition, an i4 M50 run limited to just seven cars, an M1-inspired XM, and a Techno Violet touch on a classic M1. This X5 is the most ambitious entry yet, not a one-off gimmick from a brand dabbling in cars.
AutoNext Take
The easy joke is that a streetwear label built the BMW that BMW itself never had the nerve to make. The more interesting read is that Fieg clearly is not treating this as a marketing prop. A full rotisserie restoration, a genuinely difficult drivetrain swap, and a year of development is not the schedule of someone chasing a quick Instagram moment.
Whether BMW ever lets this influence a real production model is beside the point. What matters is that the original X5 finally got the drivetrain it always deserved, just twenty-five years and one very committed streetwear executive later than it should have.
