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Enthusiasts expected a new production car for BMW’s next M Car. But BMW had a different segment in mind. M Boss Frank van Meel justified why BMW chose an SUV for its next M Car.
![Enthusiasts expected a new production car for BMW’s next M Car. But BMW had a different segment in mind. M Boss Frank van Meel justified why BMW chose an SUV for its next M Car. Former chief of engineering, Klaus Frohlich, mentioned that a road-friendly model is a possibility. He noted that with enough interest from the fans, this model is not impossible. Come August 2020 and BMW pulled the plug on the hybrid supercar. It noted some costs that prohibited the development process. Thus, BMW offers a large SUV as its second dedicated M car following the legendary M1. Most fans thought it will be another low-slung, two-door sports car. Frank van Meel revealed why BMW chose an SUV in a recent interview. In his words, “When we did the M1, every car company that wanted to say ‘I have something special’ built a sports car — that was the segment everyone wanted to enter. If you look today at the biggest, most important, and fastest-growing segment, it’s clearly the SUV segment. And, in comparison to other manufacturers, we were still lacking this ultimate expressive luxury flagship at the top of M.†Another reason that the M boss noted is the connection that XM has with motorsport. He said that this connection is almost like the link between the M division’s cars for the track and road. “In our 50-year heritage, we’ve always looked at racing and series-production cars to see where each one is going and what they can learn from each other. We’re continuing this with the XM: it has a V8 PHEV system and [the LMDh hypercar] also has a V8 hybrid drivetrain. You can see that when it works for racing, it also works for the high-performance cars,†Frank van Meel said. M division added that their analysis showed that XM represents the demand of customers. The majority like SUVs more than a coupe. This definitely cemented their decision.](https://www.bmw-sg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Why-BMW-Chose-an-SUV-for-Its-Next-M-Car.jpg)
Former chief of engineering, Klaus Frohlich, mentioned that a road-friendly model is a possibility. He noted that with enough interest from the fans, this model is not impossible. Come August 2020 and BMW pulled the plug on the hybrid supercar. It noted some costs that prohibited the development process.
Thus, BMW offers a large SUV as its second dedicated M car following the legendary M1. Most fans thought it will be another low-slung, two-door sports car. Frank van Meel revealed why BMW chose an SUV in a recent interview.
In his words, “When we did the M1, every car company that wanted to say ‘I have something special’ built a sports car — that was the segment everyone wanted to enter. If you look today at the biggest, most important, and fastest-growing segment, it’s clearly the SUV segment. And, in comparison to other manufacturers, we were still lacking this ultimate expressive luxury flagship at the top of M.â€
![Enthusiasts expected a new production car for BMW’s next M Car. But BMW had a different segment in mind. M Boss Frank van Meel justified why BMW chose an SUV for its next M Car. Former chief of engineering, Klaus Frohlich, mentioned that a road-friendly model is a possibility. He noted that with enough interest from the fans, this model is not impossible. Come August 2020 and BMW pulled the plug on the hybrid supercar. It noted some costs that prohibited the development process. Thus, BMW offers a large SUV as its second dedicated M car following the legendary M1. Most fans thought it will be another low-slung, two-door sports car. Frank van Meel revealed why BMW chose an SUV in a recent interview. In his words, “When we did the M1, every car company that wanted to say ‘I have something special’ built a sports car — that was the segment everyone wanted to enter. If you look today at the biggest, most important, and fastest-growing segment, it’s clearly the SUV segment. And, in comparison to other manufacturers, we were still lacking this ultimate expressive luxury flagship at the top of M.†Another reason that the M boss noted is the connection that XM has with motorsport. He said that this connection is almost like the link between the M division’s cars for the track and road. “In our 50-year heritage, we’ve always looked at racing and series-production cars to see where each one is going and what they can learn from each other. We’re continuing this with the XM: it has a V8 PHEV system and [the LMDh hypercar] also has a V8 hybrid drivetrain. You can see that when it works for racing, it also works for the high-performance cars,†Frank van Meel said. M division added that their analysis showed that XM represents the demand of customers. The majority like SUVs more than a coupe. This definitely cemented their decision.](https://www.bmw-sg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Why-BMW-Chose-an-SUV-for-Its-Next-M-Car-2.jpg)
Another reason that the M boss noted is the connection that XM has with motorsport. He said that this connection is almost like the link between the M division’s cars for the track and road.
“In our 50-year heritage, we’ve always looked at racing and series-production cars to see where each one is going and what they can learn from each other. We’re continuing this with the XM: it has a V8 PHEV system and [the LMDh hypercar] also has a V8 hybrid drivetrain. You can see that when it works for racing, it also works for the high-performance cars,†Frank van Meel said.
M division added that their analysis showed that XM represents the demand of customers. The majority like SUVs more than a coupe. This definitely cemented their decision.
