Courtesy of Bimmertoday.de, here is an interview with BMW M boss Frank van Meel where he talks about the G90 M5 weight criticism and the next generation M3.
Quote:
The next BMW M3 will be a double whammy! As Frank van Meel confirmed to us in an interview, in addition to the electric BMW M3 (ZA0) based on the New Class, there will also continue to be an M3 with a combustion engine - so all those who thought the current M3 (G80) would be the end of the glorious history of loud, rumbling power sedans from Garching can breathe a sigh of relief and look forward to a G80 successor with a petrol engine! The biturbo inline six-cylinder S58 is currently being made compatible with the Euro 7 standard, as it is to remain on offer for as long as possible.
For the BMW M3 electric car, Frank van Meel confirms the drive system, which has been in development for some time, with four electric motors - one on each wheel. This solution not only promises enormous power, but also unprecedented potential for wheel-selective torque distribution, which can significantly influence driving behavior. The result should be a new level of performance, which should also be reflected in the lap times on the race track."
Since M GmbH was able to play an active role in shaping the architecture of the New Class for the first electric M3 from the very beginning, Frank van Meel is already certain that lap times will be below the level of today's combustion engines. Independent M electric motors and a proprietary adaptation of the high-voltage storage units will also contribute to this.
From an emotional point of view, it is nevertheless obvious that many M customers are particularly attached to the combustion engine and do not want to do without the powerful inline six-cylinder or V8 engines any sooner than absolutely necessary. M GmbH will continue to offer a model for this target group, as there will also be a new BMW M3 with a petrol engine alongside the electric M3! This dual concept is likely to give the Garching-based company a special role in the second half of the decade, as the BMW M3 will be offered with packages tailored precisely to these very different ideas for at least a few years.
In our video interview on the occasion of the presentation of the new BMW M5 (G90), we also talk about the current sales figures, because after nine months, M GmbH is on course for another record year. In the high-performance segment, this is mainly due to the six-cylinder models BMW M2, M3 and M4 with S58, as these series are the bestsellers in the current portfolio. If you also include the M Performance models, however, the bestseller runs without a combustion engine: the best-selling M model in 2024 is likely to be the BMW i4 M50.
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Source:
https://www.bimmertoday.de/2024/10/1...nd-verbrenner/
Video (it is in German but you can switch on English subtitles).
