For years people have been wondering whether another supercar will ever be built by BMW to properly step into the footsteps of the original BMW M1. The same question has been going around fans’ heads regarding the possibility of seeing a BMW M8 become reality for some time now. Since the latter scenario seems to be on its way to becoming reality, some have wondered if maybe BMW changed its stance on the possibility of reviving the M1 badge as well.
Unfortunately for those wanting a rival for the Audi R8 or the likes of the Mercedes-AMG GT R, that’s not going to happen anytime soon, according to Frank van Meele, the head of the BMW M division. At a press conference held in Frankfurt, he pointed out that it makes more sense for the brand to launch a more diverse range of M cars for more potential customers rather than invest a lot of its money to bring out a limited-run model that only a few customers could enjoy.
“We are trying to make cars for customers, and trying to reach as many customers as possible – but to build a car for 200 people would not be our main target,” Van Meel said. “Of course, it’s a dream for every engineer to do such a thing, we are always dreaming about something like that. But, to be honest, instead of having one flagship, we would rather have an armada of fast vessels to attack a broader range of possible customer groups,” he added.
When asked whether BMW could even build a supercar and if the company has the know-how and technology to do so, van Meele said, “Yes, it could be possible yes, because we do have the engineering power – but if you look at the tradition of M, we came from being the first company to take a series production car and making a high-performance car out of that, and it was copied by a lot of other companies, also AMG,”.
The chief of the M division also claimed that the brand he’s running doesn’t need to prove anything anymore as it has done so over the years while also admitting that a supercar would definitely be a dream come true for some engineers but that there’s no actual need to build one: “I think also M is the ultimate driving machine, and I don’t need something to make clear that we really are the ultimate driving machine. We have the M2 to the X6 M to say that – I don’t need a halo car to bring out the message. I don’t feel the need to have a halo car. I would like to make one personally, because it’s fun to do, but we don’t have the necessity.”
[Source: Motor1]