It looks like BMW’s M Division is getting its own car after all, based on what its executives are saying.
Last June, we heard rumors that BMW was considering something special for its performance M Division. Normally, they use existing BMW models and make them exciting by giving them bigger engines and tuned suspension, but this would be different. No longer would M be required to use a boring luxury sedan (or crossover, or coupe), and instead they would be tasked with creating their own luxury sports car from the ground up.
We got to see what M could do in prototype form at the Frankfurt Motor Show when they revealed their Vision M Next concept.
A hybrid electric vehicle, the Vision M Next had a turbocharged 4-cylinder engine and an unspecified number of electric motors for a combined 600 hp. Top speed was 186 mph after racing from zero to 62 mph in just 3 seconds. Best of all, it has an all-electric range of 62 miles, which far exceeds any other PHEV on the road today.
But it's just a concept, and as we all know, concepts don't always lead to real cars. Only this one just might.
According to Marus Flasch, BMW M Division head and speaking to Auto Express, a stand-alone M car is very likely to exist, although he wouldn't specify just what form it would take.
“It doesn’t necessarily have to be a mid-engined supercar, but definitely it has to stand out from the crowd," Flasch said. When asked if this might mean it'll turn out to be an SUV, he replied: “I don’t know… Well, I do know, but I’m not saying yet!”
What he would say is that it will most likely include some form of electrification, but it might not necessarily be a fully-electric vehicle. At least, not until battery power can out-perform gas engines in all categories.
“M has never been dogmatic about any particular technology – electrification is not rocket science and it’s not the game-changer that people think it’s an easy answer to every question. There won’t be a point of time when we turn all vehicles to this or that technology, we will live for a very long time with a variety of powertrains depending on the market and the segment.”
BMW design chief Damagoj Dukec was a little more towards the Vision M Next, saying it "is the right way" to making a stand-alone M car. Neither of these BMW executives would give a definite timetable, but sources within BMW said to expect something by 2021.
(Source: Auto Express)