My job provides me the distinctive alternative to spend time with BMW executives — each from BMW AG and BMW M. It’s a privilege not solely as a result of I get to talk with among the smartest and most inventive folks I’ve ever met, however as a result of I can method them from two views: journalist and buyer.
And as you’ll be able to most likely guess, generally the shopper aspect of me takes over.
There’s no secret that I’m a BMW fanatic — therefore this very web site you’re studying. Although I’ve labored laborious to provide BMWBLOG an goal, balanced voice in how we overview and analyze vehicles, the subjective aspect of me sometimes breaks by means of. Particularly when the subject turns to dream initiatives.
At this yr’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, over glorious French meals and some beers (I do know, they don’t actually go collectively), I discovered myself in an off-the-cuff dialog with a number of BMW executives. This wasn’t an interview — simply automotive folks speaking about vehicles. And whereas I’m normally the one asking the questions, this time the desk turned.
“What can be your superb BMW M automotive if there have been no constraints?”
That query caught me off guard. I hesitated — partly as a result of I hadn’t thought of it shortly, and partly as a result of I’d stopped entertaining dream initiatives. I understand how inside enterprise instances work, what’s financially possible, and the way hardly ever ardour initiatives make it by means of the approval gauntlet. Nonetheless, whenever you’re handed a once-in-a-lifetime alternative to dream out loud, you’re taking it.
The Dream: An M2 CSL
After an extended pause — met with a couple of curious appears throughout the desk — I went all in.
“Nicely,” I stated, “because you’re asking… there’s one automotive I’ve been dreaming about, as a result of I like small, highly effective, compact vehicles. Therefore my 1M. My dream right now can be an M2 CSL.”
However not simply any M2 CSL.
First, I’d need each transmissions — a six-speed handbook for purists and an eight-speed computerized for individuals who favor the stopwatch to the shifter. Below the hood, give me a spiced-up model of the S58 engine, ideally paired with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system to trim turbo lag and sharpen throttle response.
Then there’s xDrive. I like rear-wheel drive as a lot as anybody, however the M4 CSL’s RWD setup doesn’t absolutely unleash the automotive’s potential. Grip and steadiness matter — however so does weight. Including xDrive means roughly 200 further kilos, and the M2 is already heavy. So I stated, “Fantastic — let’s reduce weight all over the place we are able to.”
Give me a carbon-fiber hood and trunk, lighter wheels, composite panels, a rear seat delete with a roll cage — no matter it takes. Convey the curb weight right down to round 3,100 kilos, roughly Porsche Cayman GT4 RS territory, and also you’d have a correct weapon.
Light-weight, Highly effective, Private
Grasping as I’m, I didn’t cease there. This was my one likelihood to dream with the individuals who might truly make it occur.
Inside, I’d need light-weight bucket seats, a alternative between Alcantara or leather-based, customized stitching, coloured seatbelts — the main points that make a automotive really feel particular. And let prospects decide any exterior shade from BMW Particular person, no restrictions, identical to Porsche’s Paint-to-Pattern program.
One of many executives checked out me, half amused and half baffled, and stated, “Ought to we simply make a BMWBLOG Paint Shade too?”
I replied, “In fact. There’s no different means.”
Energy? 550 to 560 horsepower feels excellent — sufficient for a sub-three-second 0–60 mph time with out turning it right into a numbers automotive. Add elective carbon-ceramic brakes, a delicate aero equipment, possibly an uncovered carbon-fiber hood and racing wing. Mainly, construct the M automotive the engineers would design if accounting didn’t get in the way in which.
The Suspension Dream
Simply once they thought I used to be completed, somebody smiled and requested, “The rest you’d like in your M2 CSL by BMWBLOG?”
I laughed — however I wasn’t carried out.
“I’d additionally need a utterly redesigned suspension,” I stated. “Correct spring charges, tuned rebound and damping, adjustable trip peak centered on precision relatively than consolation. Shocks engineered particularly for the springs. Add entrance management arms with roll-center correction, camber plates, upgraded bushings, and a equipment for correcting rear alignment.”
By this level, the laughter was contagious. Considered one of them checked out me like I used to be secretly founding my very own sportscar firm.
“How A lot Would You Pay For It?”
Then got here the damaging query.
“Alright,” one stated, “how a lot would you pay for it — and what number of ought to we construct?”
That one made me pause once more. I’m financially conservative and don’t have limitless funds, however I attempted to assume like a collector. “A GT4 RS worth level,” I stated. “Round $200,000 sounds truthful for one thing actually particular.”
Manufacturing numbers? That’s trickier. I like restricted editions — whether or not it’s sneakers, watches, or vehicles — however when you make too many, it loses its soul. Make too few, and nobody can truly purchase one.
So I stated, “Let’s compromise. Construct 3,000 to five,000 models. That’s uncommon sufficient to be collectible, however not so unique it turns into a ghost. Make it as particular because the 1M. Think about seeing one 40 years from now at a BMW concours d’magnificence.”
By then, everybody was smiling — not as a result of the concept was absurd, however as a result of I’d casually added to the BMW M’s product roadmap between bites of steak frites.
Dreaming Out Loud
Whether or not my dream automotive ever occurs is as much as BMW M. However for a couple of hours in France, I acquired to play designer, engineer, and dreamer suddenly. Even when they laughed at how far I took it, I believe everybody at that desk understood the place it got here from — that pure ardour for driving that constructed BMW M within the first place.
So whether or not it’s ever constructed or not, I used to be flattered that, for one night, they let me dream out loud. And possibly, deep down, a few of them are dreaming about the identical factor too.
