BMW Is Planning a Standalone M Car

BY BRIAN SILVESTRO - Road and Track

The BMW M division hasn't had a real halo car since the legendary M1 of the 1980s, but judging by this report from Top Gear, that's about to change.

Shown above, the BMW Vision M Next concept, revealed in June 2019.

The British publication spoke with M boss Markus Flasch at the Frankfurt Auto Show, who laid out some hopeful plans for the future of BMW's performance division.

“Standalone M cars are obviously something that my team likes to work on,” Flasch told Top Gear. “It wouldn’t be the first time; we did it with the M1 many years ago. We have some very concrete plans for something new.”

Considering we never got an M version of the company's mid-engine i8 sports car, this is pretty good news. Flasch says the mid-engine layout is "an option," but declined to elaborate on whether it would be gas-powered, hybrid, or purely electric.

Top Gear suggests this bespoke M car could also go in a totally different direction, instead making an M-only X8 SUV, though nothing's been confirmed. (BMW, if you're reading, we'd prefer the mid-engine sports car.)

Currently, the most capable M car you can buy is the M8 Competition, with its 617 horsepower twin-turbo V-8. It's wildly quick, but still a big grand-tourer at heart. Flasch says M doesn't need a halo car, but it would still be great to see a real successor to the iconic M1.