The BMW M division hasn't had a real halo car since the legendary M1 of the 1980s, but judging by this report from Top Gear, that's about to change.
The British publication spoke with M boss Markus Flasch at the
Frankfurt Auto Show, who laid out some hopeful plans for the future of
BMW's performance division.
“Standalone M cars are obviously something that my team likes to work on,” Flasch told Top Gear. “It wouldn’t be the first time; we did it with the M1 many years ago. We have some very concrete plans for something new.”
Considering we never got an M version of the company's mid-engine i8 sports car,
this is pretty good news. Flasch says the mid-engine layout is "an
option," but declined to elaborate on whether it would be gas-powered,
hybrid, or purely electric.
Top Gear suggests this
bespoke M car could also go in a totally different direction, instead
making an M-only X8 SUV, though nothing's been confirmed. (BMW, if
you're reading, we'd prefer the mid-engine sports car.)
Currently, the most capable M car you can buy is the M8 Competition,
with its 617 horsepower twin-turbo V-8. It's wildly quick, but still a
big grand-tourer at heart. Flasch says M doesn't need a halo car, but it
would still be great to see a real successor to the iconic M1.
