Tag Archives: BMW

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BMW’s Supercar Dream: Why Munich Keeps Teasing—and Delaying—the Ultimate M

For decades, BMW fans have insisted that the proper way to cap the M lineup isn’t with another SUV or a six-figure luxury cruiser, but with a genuine supercar. The XM, despite early whispers of M1 lineage, never came close. It’s a technological flagship, sure—but it’s no spiritual reboot of the E26. The idea of a dedicated, no-excuses performance machine sitting atop the M hierarchy has lingered like unfinished business. BMW keeps flirting with the concept. It just never seals the deal.

Lately, though, the company has given enthusiasts reason to believe that the impossible might be merely improbable. BMW has proven—repeatedly—that it can sell ultra-expensive, low-volume M cars to a willing audience. The 3.0 CSL did exactly that. Built to celebrate 50 years of M, it was essentially an M4 CSL underneath, wrapped in a bespoke, coach-built body inspired by the E9 “Batmobile.” Slightly more power, a manual gearbox, and a rumored €750,000 price tag later, all 50 examples were spoken for—despite costing more than four times as much as the €165,200 M4 CSL it was based on.

That wasn’t a one-off. BMW followed up with the Skytop, a radically reworked M8 turned into a two-seat convertible with a removable targa roof. Official pricing was never announced, but reports pegged it at around €500,000. Considering the standard M8 Convertible topped out at €193,400 in Germany, the math was eye-watering. Buyers didn’t care. Fifty units sold anyway.

Then came the Speedtop, a stunning shooting-brake take on the M8 Coupe. Same story: breathtaking design, limited production, a rumored half-million-euro price, and instant sellout. Seventy buyers signed on, proving once again that there’s a healthy appetite for Rolls-Royce money wrapped in BMW badges—provided the product is special enough.

That’s the crux of the argument. If BMW can sell multiple six-figure, limited-run M cars with ease, why not go all the way and build a supercar?

Because doing so is a very different beast.

Those special-edition cars all leaned heavily on existing platforms. The bones were already there; BMW merely reimagined the bodywork and assembly process. A true supercar would demand bespoke architecture, unique components, and years of development. That kind of project is hard to justify when BMW is already knee-deep in the largest investment in its history. According to outgoing CEO Oliver Zipse, the Neue Klasse program alone has cost over €10 billion, with roughly 40 new or updated models scheduled to arrive by the end of 2027.

Timing, in other words, is terrible.

Recent spy shots of a mysterious coupe wearing Neue Klasse styling sparked fresh rumors of a mid-engine M car, but insiders say that’s wishful thinking. The closest BMW came to reviving the M1 spirit was around 2020, with the M Vision Next concept—internally known as the I16. That project was meant to become reality, complete with a hybrid drivetrain. Then the pandemic hit, priorities shifted, and SUVs won the internal battle. Enter the XM.

Still, BMW M isn’t pretending the dream is dead. Earlier this year, M boss Frank van Meel was refreshingly honest about the situation. The desire is there, he said, but the capacity—and corporate green light—are not. The division doesn’t want to lose focus on its core high-performance models chasing a halo car, even if everyone involved secretly wants to build one. The message was clear: someday, maybe. Not now.

There’s also the uncomfortable elephant in the room: electrification. Electric supercars have struggled to ignite passion, and demand for sporty EVs remains lukewarm at best. At the same time, emissions regulations are tightening the noose around combustion engines. BMW M is working to keep its inline-six and V-8 engines compliant with Euro 7, buying itself a little more time. If a supercar ever does happen in the internal-combustion era, history suggests it would be a hybrid—engine mounted behind the driver, just as the canceled I16 envisioned.

For the moment, BMW has bigger fish to fry. Neue Klasse will redefine the brand’s lineup, ushering in models like the next-generation i3 and iX5, followed by an iX7, iX6, and even smaller EVs like the i1 and i2. There’s talk of an i3 Touring, plus a large, rugged SUV aimed squarely at the Mercedes G-Class. M, meanwhile, will juggle gasoline, plug-in hybrid, and electric performance cars as it rides its 14th consecutive year of growth.

A dedicated M supercar won’t be part of that immediate future—but the door isn’t closed. Sylvia Neubauer, BMW M’s Vice President of Customer, Brand, and Sales, has hinted that internal discussions are ongoing and that a slot for a small-series M car already exists. Translation: patience.

Logic says a true successor to the M1 won’t happen this decade. Hope says BMW has surprised us before. Given how quickly those half-million-euro specials vanished, one thing is certain: if Munich ever gives M the go-ahead to build a supercar, buyers will be waiting—checkbooks open, nostalgia fully engaged.

Source: BMWBlog

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BMW’s Slow-and-Steady Approach to Self-Driving Tech Is Very On-Brand

BMW has spent decades hammering home its “ultimate driving machine” mantra, and despite the industry’s headlong rush toward autonomy, the company isn’t about to abandon that identity—or its caution. While rivals scramble to one-up each other with increasingly ambitious driver-assistance features, BMW is content to treat automation as a long-distance race rather than a drag sprint. The goal, it insists, isn’t to be first. It’s to be right.

That philosophy was on full display in a recent interview with CarExpert, where Falk Schubert, an advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) engineer working on the upcoming BMW iX3, made one thing clear: BMW will not trade safety for bragging rights. Even if a competitor launches a flashier feature first, Munich isn’t interested unless the system is fully vetted.

“We want to be safe,” Schubert said. “Because the thing is, if you go too easy on features and then have one critical accident, that is not something that BMW wants and stands for.” In other words, BMW would rather arrive late than explain why a half-baked system went wrong.

For now, the company’s focus is squarely on its Highway, or Motorway, Assistant. In the new iX3, the system allows hands-free driving at speeds of up to 81 mph (130 km/h). Before you get too comfortable, though, this is still very much a Level 2 setup. Drivers must remain attentive and ready to take over at a moment’s notice. BMW isn’t interested in pretending otherwise.

Automatic lane changes are also part of the package, but—again—BMW applies the brakes on overpromising. The system will suggest a lane change, and the driver can approve it simply by looking into the side mirror. No suggestion, no maneuver. It’s assistive, not assertive.

In urban environments, the iX3’s City Assistant takes over some of the mental load. The system can detect traffic lights, bring the vehicle to a stop at red, and pull away when the light turns green. There’s a catch, of course. If the camera beneath the rearview mirror decides you’re not paying attention, the car stays put. BMW’s internal designation for this setup is “NA5,” and it embodies the company’s broader stance: the car will help, but it won’t babysit a distracted driver.

Geographically, BMW is also rolling things out conservatively. The new Highway and City Assistants will initially launch in select European markets, including Germany, Austria, France, Italy, and several neighboring countries. The U.S. is expected to receive the technology at launch next summer, with wider availability planned later. BMW reportedly intends to keep the iX3 in production until late 2034, giving it plenty of runway to refine and expand its driver-assistance suite.

In an era where autonomy hype often outpaces reality, BMW’s approach may seem restrained—almost stubbornly so. But for a brand that still wants drivers to feel engaged rather than replaced, slow and careful might just be the most BMW move of all.

Source: CarExpert

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Next-Gen BMW X5 (G65) Spotted Near HQ, Signals a Big Neue Klasse Shift

BMW isn’t exactly being subtle about what comes next. A heavily camouflaged prototype of the fifth-generation BMW X5, internal code G65, has been spotted testing near Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey—just minutes from BMW’s North American headquarters. Given how busy BMW’s test fleet has been lately, the timing feels deliberate. In the past few days alone, spy photographers have caught everything from an electric M3 charging at the Nürburgring to this next-gen X5 circulating close to home base.

Even beneath the swirled camouflage, the G65 X5’s design direction is clear. The front end unmistakably channels BMW’s Neue Klasse design language, closely mirroring what we’ve already seen on the upcoming iX3. It’s a cleaner, more architectural look, and—depending on your tolerance for recent BMW styling—a welcome reset.

The kidney grille is a key tell. The G65 adopts a retro-inspired, vertical kidney design tailored specifically for SUVs. BMW has already confirmed that horizontal kidney treatments will be reserved for lower, non-SUV models like the upcoming i3 sedan, where the grille and headlights visually merge in a way that recalls the Vision Neue Klasse concept. Larger vehicles such as the X5, X7, and 7 Series will keep more pronounced grille elements, though with far more restraint than today’s designs.

From the side, the G65 doesn’t look revolutionary at first glance—but the details tell a different story. Traditional door handles are gone. In their place are small winglet-style tabs integrated into the beltline, similar to what BMW previewed on the Skytop and Speedtop concepts. The implication is hard to miss: electrically operated doors.

It’s a subtle change, but an important one. This approach fits neatly with BMW’s push for smoother surfacing and better aerodynamics, and it shows how deeply Neue Klasse philosophy is influencing even BMW’s most mainstream, high-volume SUVs.

Out back, the camouflage offers a clearer look at the lighting signature. The taillights are wider and nearly meet at the center of the tailgate, interrupted only by a revised BMW roundel similar to the one debuting on the iX3. At the outer edges, the lights feature inverted V-shaped elements that evoke mountain ridgelines—an on-the-nose but effective SUV motif. A sporty roof spoiler with vertical fins peeks out above, hinting at a more performance-oriented stance across the lineup.

There’s also a black horizontal strip running across the tailgate, which is likely doing some visual misdirection. All signs point to BMW ditching the X5’s split-opening rear hatch for the G65, and this trim piece may be helping disguise that change on test mules.

Production of the G65 X5 isn’t scheduled to begin until October 2026, with a full reveal expected sometime in spring or summer of that year. When it arrives, it will be one of the most technically diverse vehicles BMW has ever built. For the first time, the X5 will be offered with five different drivetrains:

  • Gasoline
  • Diesel
  • Plug-in hybrid
  • Battery-electric (iX5)
  • Hydrogen fuel cell (iX5 Hydrogen)

The hydrogen variant, co-developed with Toyota, has already been teased by BMW and is expected to reach customers around 2028. It may wear the name iX5 60H xDrive, though that designation hasn’t been officially confirmed.

BMW M will also have a major presence in the G65 lineup. The full-fat X5 M is expected to retain its V-8 engine—at least in non-EU markets—while an all-electric X5 M remains in development for later in the decade.

On the M Performance side, three variants are rumored to be in the pipeline:

  • X5 M60e (plug-in hybrid)
  • X5 M60 (gasoline V-8)
  • iX5 M70 xDrive (fully electric)

Before the performance models arrive, BMW will roll out the G65 with more familiar offerings, including 40 xDrive gasoline and 40d xDrive diesel variants when production begins in October 2026. The plug-in hybrid is expected to follow shortly after.

If this prototype is any indication, the next-generation X5 won’t just be an evolution of BMW’s bestselling SUV—it’ll be a rolling manifesto for where the brand is headed next.

Source: BMW Blog; Photo: Greg Saperstein