Carsten Pries of BMW M: the M3/M4 S55 engine is an animal with shocking capabilities

While Bimmerfest was covering the Detroit Auto Show, they had the opportunity to interview BMW M Division’s Carsten Pries and he talks a great deal about the development of the new generation M cars that may just compel you to make this your next car. Here’s a point by point summary of what he said:

1.  A Focus on Weight Savings – What You Can See and What You Can’t

The critics have been hard on BMW for some time about the increased size of their cars and the corresponding bloat in weight. The tides have turned with the generation and this car is our first taste of things to come in the future. The M division has refocused their efforts and set out designing this generation’s M4 to match the weight of the E46 M3. They did one better and actually came in just underneath their goal. A big portion of the weight savings comes from the extensive use of carbon fiber (drive shaft, roof, trunk lid on the M4, etc) but it goes beyond that with weight savings being found throughout the design and production process.

2. Electromechanical Power Steering Better Than Hydraulic?

What’s exciting is that this is NOT the EPS that you have driven in other BMWs in the slightest. This is M’s version of EPS. New hardware, new software, new everything.

Mr. Pries  said: “I think probably one of the misunderstandings is…if you have to adapt something that is there and try what you can get out of it. Then you may be limited in your possibilities but if you consider something right from the very first moment and make it an integral part of the overall system including the steering gear box, all the components play together perfectly. For us, precision is extremely important. The M division started with a blank slate and invested a significant amount of resources into creating a system that is a true improvement from a hydraulic system. More precise steering. Proper direct feedback. This is a completely new system and is intended to set the benchmark for how incredible an electromechanical power steering system can be. The proof will be in the driving but I am cautiously optimistic that M came through.”

3. The New M3/M4 was a True Team Effort from Designers, Engineers and Even Financing

The M3 and M4 are very important cars to BMW and their brand and it seems like the M division was well aware they needed to bring their A game. This meant everyone had to get to work. One area that was pointed out was that even financing and purchasing played a significant role with a lower production car.

Mr. Pries  said: “For me, these two cars clearly show how much every single body in every area including areas like finance or purchasing. As you can imagine, as you talk about comparatively low production volume, it requires a big effort to negotiate things with your suppliers to get these masterpieces in small quantities at a reasonable price. But at the end of the day we didn’t want to go way up through the sky for the price for the customer. We wanted to keep it within certain limits and this requires efforts in all areas.”

4. Why should you trade in your current M3 and buy a new one?

Mr. Pries  said: Its the next step in evolution. Especially if you are keen on this power to weight philosophy. If you want to have a very light car that can do things that the already dynamic and powerful previous generation M3 couldn’t. Once you get into it, you will immediately realize this is the next step.”

“I don’t feel like I’m at risk of over promising when I tell you that no one is ready for this engine. I wasn’t prepared. The engine is an animal. The engine has shocking capabilities,” he continued. This is enough to get any BMW fan as excited as possible!