- BMW M CEO Frank van Meel mentioned he would ‘love’ a brand new M1.
- It has been almost 50 years since BMW produced the final M1.
- BMW had deliberate to launch a successor in 2022, however it launched the XM crossover as a substitute.
The legendary BMW M1 might need solely been round for a couple of brief years, however its influence has been large. It has been almost half a century for the reason that wedge-shaped, mid-engined supercar entered manufacturing, however it’s one mannequin that even immediately’s BMW executives can’t cease fascinated with.
“I’m in love with the unique M1, however I’d like to do a brand new one,” mentioned Frank van Meel, BMW M’s boss, in an interview with BMWBlog. Oliver Heilmer, the top of M Design, echoed comparable sentiments to the publication.
BMW Imaginative and prescient M Subsequent Idea
Whereas BMW has by no means made a correct M1 successor, the automaker has thought-about it on a number of events and even got here near producing a brand new one primarily based on the 2019 Vision M Next Concept. It has a 600-horsepower four-cylinder plug-in hybrid hypercar that was “95 percent finished,” in line with BMW writer and historian Steve Saxty.
The automaker was planning to launch the automotive someday in 2022. As an alternative, BMW shifted its focus to the XM SUV and marketed the XM because the M1 successor. It has not been the hit that BMW hoped for, with the automaker discontinuing the bottom model for 2026 and slashing the price of the XM Black Label.
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Motor1’s Take: Whereas van Meel would possibly like to do a brand new one, such a automotive is unlikely to reach anytime quickly from the automaker. A mid-engine supercar would require a substantial funding at a time when the business’s future stays so unsure. Spending that type of cash on such a low-volume mannequin is unnecessary proper now.
