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FRANKFURT -- With its X6 concept, BMW is looking to add more sport to the SUV segment.

BMW unveiled the X6 concept today at the Frankfurt auto show -- a vehicle that melds the ride height and ground clearance of an SUV with the sleek roofline of a coupe. Yet the X6 has four doors to make it easy for rear passengers to get in and out.

But that sleek roofline bites into the cargo area found in BMW's X5 SUV, which serves as the base for the X6. So there's seating for only four people in the X6.

Under the skin, the X6 Frankfurt concept is equipped with BMW's version of the Two Mode rear-drive hybrid powertrain the automaker developed in cooperation with General Motors and DaimlerChrysler. BMW's marketers have dubbed the technology ActiveHybrid, and say it will result in a 20 percent gain in fuel economy. ActiveHybrid will eventually make its way into most BMW vehicles.

BMW said today it would begin selling a hybrid version of the X6 in 2009.

BMW's press materials did not give any information on the X6's engine.

The X6 concept also marks the debut of BMW's Dynamic Performance Control system. The system senses potential understeer or oversteer, and redirects torque to individual wheels for added driving stability, BMW said.

The production version of the X6 is expected to go on sale next summer. BMW is clearing room out of its factory in Spartanburg, S.C., for X6 production by moving the Z4 to a factory in Regensburg, Germany.

You may e-mail Dale Jewett at djewett@crain.com