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CHRYSLER JEEP He’s Owned 100+ X5s. The V12 X5 Le Mans Still Surprised Him
Sean Troy has owned more than 100 E53 BMW X5s, and at BMW Group Classic he finally got to see the one-off X5 Le Mans in person. Everyone already knows the headline, a V12 from the Le Mans-winning V12 LMR making more than 700 hp, so Sean skips it and goes after the details only an E53 obsessive would catch.
Up front, the fog light openings now feed air to the V12, and the headlights were made just for this car. The fender flares are LM-only parts that run into the bumper and over the rockers, yet the BBS magnesium-center wheels wear the same 275/40R20 front and 315/35R20 rear tires as a production 4.6is. Underneath, tow hooks bolt on where the exhaust hangers normally go, the rear sway bar makes the stock one look like a straw, and the box that usually holds the battery is completely empty.
Under the hood, the cowl is gone to make room for the airbox, and an oil tank sits where the DME normally lives. A small patch of the car's original Cosmos Black paint survived because BMW taped it off before the repaint. Inside, the V12's engine computer hides in the glovebox, the instrument cluster comes from an early black-face E39 M5, and a label warns that the alternator doesn't charge below 4,000 rpm.
What surprised Sean most is that the X5 LM is still all-wheel drive. It was built from a pre-facelift car, so it keeps the front axle, front driveshaft and a mechanical transfer case behind its six-speed manual. Sean has converted plenty of X5s to rear-wheel drive, so the extra weight puzzles him, and so does a sunroof sitting high on the roof of a track car.
BMW built the X5 Le Mans in 2000 to celebrate its 1999 Le Mans win, and Hans-Joachim Stuck lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife in under eight minutes with it in 2001.
Follow Sean on Instagram: @makee53sgreatagain
Watch Sean's full BMWBLOG Podcast episode on BMWBLOG Extra: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAaWIkcnX_U
Read more: https://www.bmwblog.com/2026/09/25/bmw-x5-buying-guide-sean-troy-103-x5s-podcast/
0:00 Intro: Sean Troy and the BMW X5 Le Mans
1:07 Front end, BBS wheels and LM-only fender flares
2:36 Rear bumper, exhaust and underbody details
4:50 V12 LMR engine bay and hidden original paint
6:36 Interior: E39 M5 cluster and custom door panels
8:11 V12 ECU in the glovebox and race car warning labels
9:10 Rear cabin, roll bar and fire extinguisher
10:33 Front suspension and the all-wheel-drive surprise
11:49 Why a track car kept AWD and a sunroof
#BMW #BMWX5 #X5LeMans
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