Interview: BMW M On Differentiation, the Next M3, the Competition, and Building a Supercar [2012 Paris Auto Show]

At the 2012 Paris auto show, we had the chance to sit down with both M product manager Christoph Smieskol and Matt Russell, who used to head the M brand in North America before taking over product and technology communications here. Follow the jump to find out about how M differentiates itself, what the brand is focusing on in next-gen M3 development, and which competitors it pays attention to in the U.S. Oh, and the M guys still really, really want to build a supercar. Car and Driver: For the non-M heads out there, can you illuminate what separates your brand from others like AMG or Audi RS? Christoph Smieskol: I'm not going to judge our competitors, but I think the point was always that we were heading for this concept of perfect harmony. We take care to see that all of our components for M products [are developed] from scratch. It's really redesigned—it's the engine, it's the suspension, it's the brakes, it's the transmission, it's the differential. That's a crucial point, not just focusing on a big-block engine. It's much more about the driving fascination. Matt Russell: We're looking for a holistic driving experience. There may be some misunderstanding, but M cars now are even a further departure from the series-based cars than in the past. I think it may be less obvious from 50 yards away, but for example, the suspension on the new M5 is more drastically changed than the previous four generations of M5 from [the respective] original 5-series pieces. CS: That's also true of the engine. If you look at the paperwork, it says 4.4-liter. But if you take a deeper look at the technology, there are two turbochargers, the exhaust manifolds are completely newly developed and we have a patent on this. We are the only ones who have this technology. MR: It's the most expensive part on the car, this exhaust manifold. I think maybe we should've changed the displacement of the engine just to make people believe us because they see the 4.4 and think that it's the same engine [as the naturally aspirated 4.4-liter V-8 found in 50i-designated BMWs]. It's completely re-engineered. Cylinder heads are a different alloy, higher compression design, diesel specification on the cylinder heads, the oil system. C/D: Why does the weight of M cars continue to increase? CS: We are fighting heavily for weight reduction so when you take a look at the M5, the previous generation had a weight increase of 220 pounds over the standard 5-series because we are using a bigger engine, bigger brakes, a bigger differential lock, and bigger components that increase the weight. This generation we have reduced the gap down to 88 pounds. We are using aluminum parts on the suspension and lightweight materials all across the car. At the end of the day, we have a starting point, and that's the standard 5-series and we do our best to make sure we get the right stiffness with the right suspension, the right braking performance, so we have to invest weight but at the same time we are using lightweight materials whether its aluminum, magnesium, or carbon to try and compensate for this. C/D: Can you tell us anything at all about the number of cylinders, engine type, or induction systems in the upcoming M3? CS: I can say that it will be a fantastic car, outperforming even the superb current-generation M3. [So no?—Ed.] That's all I can say in detail at the moment. [OK then—Ed.] We are working heavily to make a big step forward in weight reduction. We're not really working on adding another 100 hp or 200 hp. I think that's not the intelligent way to improve the driving impression, but it's really the combination of the engine and the body weight and the suspension that you get the light-footed character and the agility. When it comes to the engine, we are not sticking to any dogmas. We always try to find the right package and that includes the right engine. We need to make sure we defend our benchmark position against our competitors, whether that's the C63 AMG or the RS5. When it comes to the driving impression and times around the Nürburgring, then we are number one. That's our development target and in the development process, this will be the case. C/D: You mentioned RS5, will your competitor for this car be called M3 coupe or M4? CS: We have a wonderful M3 coupe but we will see how the next generation will be. Comparison Test: 2012 BMW M3 Coupe vs. 2012 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupe Comparison Test: 2013 Audi S6 vs. 2013 BMW M5, 2012 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG Instrumented Test: 2012 BMW M6 Convertible C/D: Why doesn't M have a true halo car like the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG or the Audi R8? CS: We have a very long tradition going back to 1978 [which we've well documented—Ed.] with the M1, a real halo car. We have all the engineering expertise in our company and our engineers are burning for this kind of project. We're never giving up, always following these processes, but so far no green light and at the end of the day the board has to approve these decisions. If one day the board gives us the green light, then we will go full throttle. C/D: Do you look to Cadillac's V models and Lexus F as competition, and do you use them for benchmarking purposes? CS: Yeah, especially in our biggest M market, the U.S. market. I wouldn't call them a competitor in a car-development process, but we take a closer look at both Lexus's IS-F and Cadillac's CTS-V. They are rather competitive when it comes to price-value proposition, so from this perspective we have to be very cautious about these kinds of cars because the [customer pool in] the high-performance segment is limited. So we need to make sure we get the right part of the cake. [Mmmmm . . . cake—Ed.] Read full story » from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com

Put the internet to work for you. via Personal Recipe 647533