A 2000 BMW X5 now has a 500-hp V-10, a six-speed manual transmission, and all-wheel drive. It exists because Ronnie Fieg, the founder of New York streetwear brand Kith, decided the first-generation X5 deserved a powertrain BMW’s own M division never gave it.
The E53-generation X5 was completely stripped to bare metal, restored, and reassembled around the 5.0-liter S85 V-10 from the E60-era M5. The engine isn’t stock. Forged pistons and custom tuning push it beyond the factory 500-hp rating, though exact numbers haven’t been disclosed.
The real headline is the three-pedal manual gearbox sitting between the seats, connected to BMW’s original all-wheel-drive system. This is a one-off. You cannot buy one, but the build philosophy is what makes it interesting.
Unlike the typical restomod circus where every modification screams for attention, this X5 plays it cool. The widebody kit and reworked front end draw from BMW’s own X5 Le Mans prototype, the deranged 2000 concept that crammed the McLaren F1’s V-12 under the hood. Where the Le Mans was a motorsport fever dream, Kith’s version looks like something that could have rolled off a factory line in an alternate timeline where BMW’s product planners had bigger appetites for risk.
The suspension sits lower. The rear gets a modest aero treatment. Inside, the cabin retains a factory aesthetic so convincing you might miss the changes entirely, except for the 9000-rpm tachometer lifted directly from the M5.
That redline tells you everything about what lives under the hood.
Fieg and Kith have history with BMW. The brand collaborated on a limited-edition M4 Competition in 2022 and later debuted a custom XM and restored M1 together. Those were marketing exercises dressed up as passion projects.
This X5 feels different. It feels like someone who actually loves these cars sat down and asked what the best possible version of the E53 would look like if money and corporate caution weren’t factors.
The original X5 was a pioneer. Launched in 1999, it effectively invented the performance SUV category before every luxury brand on earth decided that was the only segment worth chasing. The styling has aged far better than it had any right to, especially when measured against BMW’s recent output.
The current XM, with its polarizing face, makes the E53’s clean lines look almost prophetic.
BMW’s own history with the E53 topped out at some muscular V-8 options. The V-10 didn’t arrive until 2005, and it went exclusively into the M5 and M6. Nobody at Munich seriously considered dropping ten cylinders into an SUV that weighed north of 4,500 pounds and sending it out the door with a clutch pedal.
That restraint now looks like a missed opportunity.
Builds like this have a way of nudging market values. The E53 X5 has been sitting in a sweet spot for years: old enough to be cheap, well-built enough to be worth saving, and cool enough to attract a growing collector audience that cares more about driving experience than concours trophies. A high-profile build from a brand with Kith’s cultural reach puts more eyes on the platform.
Whether that translates into rising prices or just more ambitious garage projects is an open question. But somewhere, someone with a clean E53 and access to a wrecked M5 donor car is already doing the math.
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