Quote:
Originally Posted by SCOTT26
Its typical of you to insult the management because they have to bring in the capital to maintain their business goals.
As I stated they are potential projects ongoing but no way conclusive.
We have already seen a 3er GT body shell at the M Division HQ in Garching as each model is potentially evaluated as a possible M.
But not all receive the green light.
If we take the current crop of potential M cars.
3er GT , 4er Gran Coupe and X4M. All niche models. We have to have an establishment period , sales have to established to determine if there is a customer and also a market.
The 3er GT has already been launched and it has exceeded its first end of year target , which is significant because the car was introduced in Europe in June.
The 4er Gran Coupe and X4 will launch in the second quarter of 2014.
If they are successful launches then they will be assessed for potential M status.
If we take the M6 Gran Coupe and the M5. M5 was introduced in 2011 and M6 Gran Coupe in 2013. If there was to be a 3er GT or 4er GC it will be within the same period. Again enough time to evaluate a potential customer base.
Out of the 3 models the more likely addition will be the BMW X4M.
They are considering a full blown X4M because of new competitors like the Porsche Macan and the success of the BMW X6M because in key growth markets for BMW M the X6M is the best selling M model.
If accessibility is brought with an X4M then potentially you have a car that can take advantage of the mid-entry end of the market especially when a new X6M will have a price increase. Again nothing is final because the car is not on the market yet.
So we will know more once the first year of sales are known.
The X4M in its engineering strategy shares much with the new BMW M3 and M4 Coupe including engine and attention to lightweight detail.
The current priority for BMW M is to finalise for production on the all new BMW X5M and X6M and to start full development on the BMW M2. Whilst conceive progression for the M3 and M4 Coupe. And start the conception process for the all new BMW M5. All this amongst other ongoing projects including a project to supplement BMW M to almost mirror BMWi in a stand alone concept for each sub-brand.
One such market they cannot ignore is the rising demand for high performance compact SUVs. An X1M has been mooted to join a twin assault by an all new MINI Countryman JCW which will see JCW be more like BMW M for MINI but will not be spread amongst every MINI variant now.
An M7 is a much desired concept. The goals within the current model would not be satisfactory . The all new model is a different story .
Its significant weight reduction and engineering certainly opens more potential than before .
It just remains to see whether there is a desire for such a car both internally and externally.
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thanks for the info. Sounds exciting. I personally wouldn't mind seeing as many M models as possible as long as they hold true to M philosophy.
people just like to bitch for the sake of bitching. who cares if BMW makes 1,000 different models as long as the one you wanna drive is how you want it. God forbid BMW try to make money and compete with it's rivals. If you're never gonna drive an X4m or 3gt then just shut the hell up about it and enjoy the car you actually have. if you don't like the drive and feel of a bmw anymore then stop crying and go buy an audi or benz and join that forum. this complaining about LUXURY cars is getting tiresome.