Dr Friedrich Nitschke, the boss of BMW’s M Division, has confirmed that a raft of new models wearing the famous badge is on the way – with the M2 to be joined by a powerful M3 and a successor to the M1 supercar.
“Our pace of development must accelerate,” he told Auto Express. “We can build more cars, and we can build a wider range of cars.”
It seems that the new flagship 3 Series is due in 2014, and will feature a fresh 3.3-litre six-cylinder engine. This is set to get three turbos – one powered by electricity, rather than the exhaust gases – and is rumoured to offer 450bhp. A mix of steel and ultra-light carbon fibre-reinforced plastic in the body will help deliver huge pace
“We have a fantastic history with the M1,” Dr Nitschke said. “The decision on developing this car is open. We’d love to do it.”
Are very few details and no word on engines, but it would need a V10 or V12 to compete with rivals from Aston Martin, Lamborghini and Ferrari. If the project gets the green light, it will probably arrive around 2016.
BMW is also looking at a successor to the Nineties Z3M Coupé. “There’s no decision on an M version of the Z4,” added Dr Nitschke, “but this is something we could do easily.”
Beside this, he spelled out a keenness for the M Division to “increase the speed with which we launch new models”. A lighter ‘CSL’ version of the new 1 Series M Coupé is on the cards, which could take cues from 2007’s tii concept.
Source: Autoexpress
