BMW M to expand 'substantially'

The M performance division is set to substantially boost itsmodel range, but a senior BMW executive says it won’t expand as aggressively as Mercedes-AMG in order to preserve its exclusivity.

And in particular, don’t hold your breath for a new generation of the legendary six-cylinder M1 to take on the Mercedes-AMG GT V8 petrol-turbo coupe.

“We will expand our M portfolio, but definitely, definitely, definitely not to the extent that Stuttgart (Mercedes-Benz) has done (with AMG) ,” Hendrik von Kuenheim, BMW Group senior vice president Asia, Pacific and South Africa told motoring.com.au during a visit to Australia last week.

Von Kuenheim took a barely veiled shot across the bows of the of AMG’s dramatically widening portfolio, which includes a line of options and accessories for standard Benzes and recently announced AMG Sport line-up.

These cars feature AMG tuning but are built on regular Benz production lines.

“Compared to them we have a different strategy; AMG on every car; global everywhere; maybe expending at a level we wouldn’t want to do.”

Von Kuenheim confirmed the M expansion will go hand-in-hand with the expansion of the electric vehicle and hybrid i brand.

“In our BMW brand there are two book-ends; on the one side we have the i brand, which is just starting and we will grow and cherish over the next decade.

“And on the other hand we will have M, which will substantially grow in product offerings – substantially. Because if you do the one you have to do the other one.”

New additions expected for M include the six-cylinder petrol-turbo M2 coupe and a first-ever M version of the 7 Series saloon, which is overhauled this year with the launch of the G11 generation at the Frankfurt motor show in September.

Von Kuenheim said this expansion was the continuation of a policy that had been underway for some time.

“We have our M performance which were always high performance, high revving engines, which we are famous for. We are extremely successful in those segments, we have widened those segments and I think if you have the chance to drive the X5 M or X6 M recently; brilliant cars, incredible how those cars handle considering the weight they are and how they perform and brake.”

But bespoke models such as a direct GT rival at the top-end of the M range are not on the agenda, von Kuenheim said.

Instead he pointed to the petrol-electric i8 coupe as the direction BMW preferred to go.

Intriguingly, a higher performance i8S has been predicted as part of BMW’s 100th anniversary celebrations in 2016.

“The GT model they (AMG) have built is definitely a good looking car,” von Kuenheim said. “If you are a car enthusiast or not then you might aspire to this.

“BMW has invested rather in an i8 for the time being, which really represents the future.

“Let’s say some of our competitors might be a little more traditional based. I wouldn’t say looking backward but more traditional-based.”

“We have taken massive financial resources to invest in the future and the i brand has just started and this iconic change where more and more electric cars and hybrid cars will be driven, this is a question of a generation. This is not a question of a year or two.

“You cannot judge the decision of the i brand is successful by how many cars sold last week, last month or last quarter. It is a question of a decade did you make the right decision?

Despite his support for the i8, von Kuenheim does recall the M1 fondly. His father, Eberhard, was chairman of the BMW executive board from 1970 to 1993 and effectively fathered the company as it is known today, brought an early example home.

“He took me out for a ride in an M1, a blue one, and it was such a cool car at the time,” von Kuenheim said.

“And it was the most expensive German car of its time. It cost 100,000 German marks when the most expensive Mercedes-Benz and Porsches cost 60,000 to 70,000 marks. It was a massive price at that time.”