My job offers 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 a few of the smartest and most artistic folks I’ve ever met, however as a result of I can method them from two views: journalist and buyer.
And as you may in all probability guess, typically the client aspect of me takes over.
There’s no secret that I’m a BMW fanatic — therefore this very web site you’re studying. Despite the fact that I’ve labored exhausting to provide BMWBLOG an goal, balanced voice in how we evaluate and analyze automobiles, the subjective aspect of me sometimes breaks by way of. Particularly when the subject turns to dream tasks.
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 automobiles. And whereas I’m often the one asking the questions, this time the desk turned.
“What can be your preferrred 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 considered it shortly, and partly as a result of I’d stopped entertaining dream tasks. I understand how inner enterprise circumstances work, what’s financially possible, and the way hardly ever ardour tasks make it by way of the approval gauntlet. Nonetheless, while you’re handed a once-in-a-lifetime alternative to dream out loud, you are taking it.
The Dream: An M2 CSL
After an extended pause — met with a number of curious seems to be throughout the desk — I went all in.
“Properly,” I stated, “because you’re asking… there’s one automotive I’ve been dreaming about, as a result of I really like small, highly effective, compact automobiles. Therefore my 1M. My dream at this time can be an M2 CSL.”
However not simply any M2 CSL.
First, I’d need each transmissions — a six-speed guide 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 really like rear-wheel drive as a lot as anybody, however the M4 CSL’s RWD setup doesn’t totally unleash the automotive’s potential. Grip and steadiness matter — however so does weight. Including xDrive means roughly 200 additional kilos, and the M2 is already heavy. So I stated, “Advantageous — let’s drop a few pounds all over the place we will.”
Give me a carbon-fiber hood and trunk, lighter wheels, composite panels, a rear seat delete with a roll cage — no matter it takes. Carry the curb weight all the way 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 may truly make it occur.
Inside, I’d need light-weight bucket seats, a selection between Alcantara or leather-based, customized stitching, coloured seatbelts — the small print that make a automotive really feel particular. And let clients choose any exterior coloration from BMW Particular person, no restrictions, similar 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 Coloration too?”
I replied, “After all. 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 refined aero package, perhaps an uncovered carbon-fiber hood and racing wing. Principally, construct the M automotive the engineers would design if accounting didn’t get in the best way.
The Suspension Dream
Simply once they thought I used to be completed, somebody smiled and requested, “Anything you’d like in your M2 CSL by BMWBLOG?”
I laughed — however I wasn’t finished.
“I’d additionally need a utterly redesigned suspension,” I stated. “Correct spring charges, tuned rebound and damping, adjustable experience peak centered on precision fairly than consolation. Shocks engineered particularly for the springs. Add entrance management arms with roll-center correction, camber plates, upgraded bushings, and a package for correcting rear alignment.”
By this level, the laughter was contagious. One among 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 harmful 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 infinite funds, however I attempted to assume like a collector. “A GT4 RS worth level,” I stated. “Round $200,000 sounds honest for one thing actually particular.”
Manufacturing numbers? That’s trickier. I really like restricted editions — whether or not it’s sneakers, watches, or automobiles — however in the event 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 items. 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’class.”
By then, everybody was smiling — not as a result of the thought 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 number of hours in France, I acquired to play designer, engineer, and dreamer . 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 perhaps, deep down, a few of them are dreaming about the identical factor too.
