LARTE Design’s BMW XM carbon hood and splitter

LARTE Design, the Belgian atelier known for surgical interventions on high-performance machinery, has reimagined the BMW XM with a carbon fibre hood and integrated front splitter running as a proposal through 2027. The package reads not as decoration but as a proportional statement, reshaping how the luxury SUV presents itself to the road.

LARTE Design, the Belgian atelier known for surgical interventions on high-performance machinery, has reimagined the BMW XM with a carbon fibre hood and integrated front splitter. The hood and splitter read as a single unbroken gesture running from the bonnet’s leading edge forward, one proportional statement rather than decoration bolted beneath the bumper. What distinguishes this intervention is its restraint: the carbon weave sits visible enough to justify the engineering, the edges flush against the painted surfaces, every line drawn with purpose.

The photograph of the finished XM, rendered in black and white, makes the geometry clear. The splitter is not a separate element but a continuation of the hood itself, extending the visual weight and suggesting aggression without the familiar vocabulary of fins and vents. That texture across the carbon is not ornament; it is evidence of the precision tooling required to achieve weight reduction and the coherence LARTE Design demands from every intervention. The front end now reads as though the car’s original designer intended this reading all along.

LARTE Design was founded by Elisabeth and Yannick LARTE, Belgian craftspeople who established the workshop to pursue bespoke modifications for owners seeking a distinct point of view on their machines. The atelier’s approach centres on proportional intervention rather than visual excess, a philosophy evident across their portfolio of work on high-performance vehicles. Each project is engineered in-house, with carbon fibre components laid up and finished to standards that preserve the car’s design coherence, ensuring the modified piece reads as a considered whole rather than an addition.

The BMW XM itself launched in 2023 as the Bavarian manufacturer’s flagship performance SUV, a twin-turbocharged V8 machine bridging the luxury and sporting categories. The car’s proportions present a canvas for reinterpretation, and LARTE Design’s reading of the front end responds directly to the XM’s visual mass, using the hood and splitter as tools to anchor and extend the vehicle’s forward stance. For an XM owner who wants their car to reflect a point of view beyond the showroom, this kind of intervention compounds with time; the package feels complete and considered, nothing tentative or added as an afterthought.

Interested owners can engage LARTE Design through their Instagram channel, where the atelier documents completed projects and shares the design process behind each commission. The workshop takes on a limited number of vehicles annually to maintain the standard of craft and the attention each owner’s brief deserves. The XM package sits within a proposal window extending through 2027, giving potential clients time to evaluate whether this interpretation of the car aligns with their vision.

The BMW XM itself launched in 2023 as the Bavarian manufacturer’s flagship performance SUV, bridging the luxury and sporting categories with a twin-turbocharged V8 engine. The car’s proportions present a canvas for reinterpretation, and LARTE Design’s reading of the front end responds directly to the XM’s visual mass, using the hood and splitter as tools to anchor and extend the vehicle’s forward stance. The carbon weave, visible in daylight, signals the engineering choice without compromising the aesthetic coherence of the piece.

The 24-hour concept turnaround that Elisabeth LARTE offers reflects a workflow where digital rendering, material studies and design refinement happen at pace, allowing clients to visualise the finished intervention before committing capital to fabrication. This compressed timeline is possible only when the designer possesses a clear vocabulary and the technical foundation to execute it, qualities that distinguish bespoke modification from catalogue customisation. Clients receive drawings, renderings and material samples before any irreversible work begins on their car.

Interested owners can engage LARTE Design through their Instagram channel, where the atelier documents completed projects and shares the design process behind each commission. The workshop takes on a limited number of vehicles annually to maintain the standard of craft and the attention each owner’s brief deserves. The XM package sits within a proposal window extending through 2027, giving potential clients time to evaluate whether this interpretation of the car aligns with their vision.

Imagery courtesy of LARTE Design (@lartedesign).