[Roundown]

Originally Posted by tallshortguy

Halo cars aren't there to provide good ROI by itself as most end up barely making money, it's to provide a highly visible aspirational platform (wall poster car) for the brand.

Also, I believe there was an interview wherein it was said the UKL platform was modular enough that a RWD configuration was possible.

To me, for BMW, the M2 should be the poster car.

Ferrari and Mclaren make money on these super cars and VAG can afford frivolities like the 918.

Elsewhere- 'poster' or 'halo' cars are created to paint a portrait of a brand that a photograph couldn't substantiate (sporting or design prowess). BMW shouldn't be that brand.

[BMW269]

Originally Posted by cSurf

To me, for BMW, the M2 should be the poster car.

Ferrari and Mclaren make money on these super cars and VAG can afford frivolities like the 918.

Elsewhere- 'poster' or 'halo' cars are created to paint a portrait of a brand that a photograph couldn't substantiate (sporting or design prowess). BMW shouldn't be that brand.

So Z4 M Coupé is a 'poster' or 'halo' car?

[tallshortguy]

Originally Posted by cSurf

To me, for BMW, the M2 should be the poster car.

Ferrari and Mclaren make money on these super cars and VAG can afford frivolities like the 918.

Elsewhere- 'poster' or 'halo' cars are created to paint a portrait of a brand that a photograph couldn't substantiate (sporting or design prowess). BMW shouldn't be that brand.

No one will put the M2 on their wall unless it looks like the GT6 vision car. No offense to what will likely be a brilliant car but the design is still too ordinary to be compared to a lambo, ferrari, etc. looks wise.

The M2 is already on the way, if BMW wants to give M the money to go wild on making a 911 competitor I don't think it will take away from the M2.

Originally Posted by Levi

So Z4 M Coupé is a 'poster' or 'halo' car?

It never caught the imagination or hype like the R8 or SLS which is the point of these cars.

[Boss330]

Originally Posted by Broken_Gearbox

Call it the M8! Wahey

If it's based on the i8, I see a few interesting naming options here

M8 - Mate
M8i - Matey or Mighty
iM8 - I am eight
i8M - I ate em
8iM - Eighty emm

[Diver]

It is a sure bet we will see a souped up i8 before there is an i based M car. The issue of battery discharge after a few miles on a track needs to be addressed. I used to think the problem was not having a large enough petrol engine as a source of kinetic energy, but I think it may be limits of charging a battery from race track deceleration. That would require a super capacitor.

[Roundown]

Originally Posted by tallshortguy

No one will put the M2 on their wall unless it looks like the GT6 vision car. No offense to what will likely be a brilliant car but the design is still too ordinary to be compared to a lambo, ferrari, etc. looks wise.

The M2 is already on the way, if BMW wants to give M the money to go wild on making a 911 competitor I don't think it will take away from the M2.

It never caught the imagination or hype like the R8 or SLS which is the point of these cars.

You still haven't addressed the utility of a halo car for a brand that points to cost savings (at the expense of the series cars that built the brand) as existential to their survival.

[wdeerfield]

Originally Posted by M3 Pilot

Likely i8S Plus

cant be an 8 unless gran coupe.. so itll be .. wait for it...


///Mi9d xdrive and be a sedan with electric motors driving the front wheels with a bigger motor for the rear than the i8

[BMW269]

I wonder who brings up all those rumors. That is even worse than the M3 V6, that was recently confirmed by M boss in an interview. The is no i8M or whatever, just as there will be no Maybach AMG. No comprende?

Supra will not be hybrid. SC will be though and LFA II also.

[YungDro]

Originally Posted by cSurf

I don't really understand this.

BMW built their reputation on making mundane 4-door sedans fun to drive.

If BMW's series (and M car derivatives) were the best cars in their respective classes (as they were for so long), then do they need really need a halo car?

What does a 918 competitor accomplish?

Why not plow the money this would cost into figuring out how to make a parallel (to UKL) small-sedan RWD platform viable?

In the long run, that'll carry the brand much further than a low-volume hybrid meant to compete in a class that doesn't present much of an ROI for BMW (or its customers).

#hurryupwiththem2

because there is a market for it meaning it will sell well and make them $$$$$$$$$$$$$. The audi r8 sold well, the mercedes sls sold well too. and M have been dying to make a halo BMW M supercar they do need one. I doubt it will be a 918 competitor. thats a hybrid hypercar. it will probably compete with just 458 T, new R8, new AMG GT and the new Huracan.

[YungDro]

Originally Posted by Levi

I wonder who brings up all those rumors. That is even worse than the M3 V6, that was recently confirmed by M boss in an interview. The is no i8M or whatever, just as there will be no Maybach AMG. No comprende?

Supra will not be hybrid. SC will be though and LFA II also.

This wasnt a Rumour.. someone from autocar spoke to BMW's M performance division, Carsten Pries about a supercar and his response was for a M super car.. "Pries confirmed that any resulting car would not be simply a hotter version of the BMW i8, but an M-car in its own right which merely used i8 technologies such as its carbonfibre construction and revolutionary plug-in powertrain."

[YungDro]

Originally Posted by cSurf

To me, for BMW, the M2 should be the poster car.

Ferrari and Mclaren make money on these super cars and VAG can afford frivolities like the 918.

Elsewhere- 'poster' or 'halo' cars are created to paint a portrait of a brand that a photograph couldn't substantiate (sporting or design prowess). BMW shouldn't be that brand.

Ferrari and Lambo were poster cars in the 90s' theres too many fast cars out there now. BMW are known for sporty luxury cars. A M halo car fits perfect for the M division doesnt make sense if they don't. It seems strange that you wouldnt be happy if the M division made a supercar. every bmw fan i know would get on their knees and beg for a supercar. Even the whole M division is on their knees begging for one!

[YungDro]

Originally Posted by Broken_Gearbox

Call it the M8! Wahey

BMW have registered the names in the past it'll be one of these:

-Grand Tourer
-Urbanic
-Compactive, Compactive Tourer
-E1, E2, E3, E4, E5, E6, E7, E8, E9
-i1, i2, i3, i4, i5, i6, i7, i8, i9
-X2, X4
-M1, M2, M7, M10
-M35, M40, M55, M300, M350, M400, M500
-M130, M135, M140, M230, M235, M240, M330, M335, M340, M430, M435, M440, M450, M550, M650, M750
-M50d
-Z8
-GC, Gran Coupe, BMW Gran Coupe, 6er Gran Coupe
-SportMode, CoolMode, Air Collar, BMW Turbotec, Drive eCharged, LifeDrive, i Pedelec
-Corniche, Shadow, Wraith, Cloud, Dawn (Rolls Royce names)

Most likeley it will be called the M10. Praying it will have a V10.

[Roundown]

Originally Posted by YungDro

Ferrari and Lambo were poster cars in the 90s' theres too many fast cars out there now. BMW are known for sporty luxury cars. A M halo car fits perfect for the M division doesnt make sense if they don't. It seems strange that you wouldnt be happy if the M division made a supercar. every bmw fan i know would get on their knees and beg for a supercar. Even the whole M division is on their knees begging for one!

If I wanted or could afford a super car, I'd buy one from Mclaren.

I want BMW to make better BMW's. Specifically, figure out how to make the F3x as enjoyable to drive as an E4x (maybe upping the EPS R&D budget). Simply, bring character back to the series cars (and by extension, the M cars), deliver something tangible to enthusiasts.

At least for me, posters don't do it. Driving a car that's clearly an improvement on the one that it replaces, is.

[fre2bpowerless]

The way they are going, I can imagine it being powered by a 1.2L 3-cyl quad turbo and some electric motors thrown in just to make us cringe ugh

[tallshortguy]

Originally Posted by cSurf

You still haven't addressed the utility of a halo car for a brand that points to cost savings (at the expense of the series cars that built the brand) as existential to their survival.

You have no existence without revenue and in the car world brand is everything. I'm not sure whatever beef it is you have with the current series cars but regardless there is no company that doesn't focus on cost savings of some sort. Even Ferrari will look for cost reductions wherever it makes sense.

Anyways, you've already heard the utility of a halo car. Any money given to an M product is never going to come out of the 3 series R&D budget. The project will be funded based on it's own merits, and none of that money would have or will have gone to 3 series development.

[templarklimek]

Originally Posted by Andrew115

So does thing mean we have the possibility of seeing an "BMW I'M"

HaHa, you are clever.

[phoenixbmwlife]

I'll believe it when I see it. For many years there has been talk of a BMW super car and still nothing. Don't be fooled by this latest news. It will only disappoint you just like the last 10 times.

[Dog Face Pony Soldier]

It sounded like there was concern about diluting the "i" brand!

World class performance isn't exactly in sync with the ever more stringent vehicle regulations to come. This has to effect the decision to pull the trigger greatly.

When I think "junior supercar" I think about cars approximately 2x the price of the i8, but the competition quoted was barely more than the i8?

Not sure how i8 owners would feel about losing the brand's halo car throne.

Frankly I find the i8 an embarrassing flagship sports car for BMW. Having a proper high performance flagship would definitely help this owner keep the faith...

[Bosozoku]

Originally Posted by cSurf

I don't really understand this.
BMW built their reputation on making mundane 4-door sedans fun to drive.

That was then, this is now. Automotive technology has changed a lot.

If BMW's series (and M car derivatives) were the best cars in their respective classes (as they were for so long), then do they need really need a halo car?

What does a 918 competitor accomplish?

M GmbH, as fantastic as their products are, still do the same old things they've been doing since the M1. More engine power, enhanced suspension, lighter weight. Not one single thing new (except maybe the self-driving and robo-drift features if M is actually working on those.)

The Porsche 918 and McLaren P1 and Ferrari LaFerrari et al are gas-electric hybrids, so they're advancing the interim technology between 20th century internal combustion and 21st century pure electric. No, gas-electric hybrid technology isn't the ultimate goal. Yes, it's a step toward that goal.

There's a lot to be said for brand image. Is the i8 enough to prove to the world that BMW hybrid gas-electric cars have enough performance for hard-core enthusiasts? I'm not sure. Maybe BMW does need to build a hybrid supercar. Think of it as marketing.

Why not plow the money this would cost into figuring out how to make a parallel (to UKL) small-sedan RWD platform viable?

In the long run, that'll carry the brand much further than a low-volume hybrid meant to compete in a class that doesn't present much of an ROI for BMW (or its customers).

#hurryupwiththem2

In the long run, all passenger cars will be electric. With rechargeable batteries or hydrogen fuel cells or whatever. In the near-term, they'll be hybrid gas-electric because the technology isn't available at a low enough cost. We *do* want BMW to survive this century, don't we? Well BMW needs to move on, technologically, if they're going to survive the next few decades, let alone the whole 21st century. All car manufacturers do.

Near-term (in, say, the next 20 years) I'm sure it's possible to build a gas-only small RWD car. But it would be slow with its tiny gas-sipping turbo engine in Eco Pro mode. Might as well make it FWD to save production costs, save weight, and all that. Right?

[YungDro]

Originally Posted by cSurf

If I wanted or could afford a super car, I'd buy one from Mclaren.

I want BMW to make better BMW's. Specifically, figure out how to make the F3x as enjoyable to drive as an E4x (maybe upping the EPS R&D budget). Simply, bring character back to the series cars (and by extension, the M cars), deliver something tangible to enthusiasts.

At least for me, posters don't do it. Driving a car that's clearly an improvement on the one that it replaces, is.

I understand what you are saying, fair enough but what if the bmw supercar was miles better than a Mclaren? To me a 458 speciale and 911 GT3 is better than a Mclaren 650s.. and to me the 12c had no character it was just a technical car from Mclaren to show what they could do. No passion at all. Most reviewers said it was fast but boring. the best cars they have made are the F1 and the P1. imo that is.

[Professor///M]

They'll just call it something stupid like M supercar

[Doctor///M]

Originally Posted by Boss330

If it's based on the i8, I see a few interesting naming options here

M8 - Mate
M8i - Matey or Mighty
iM8 - I am eight
i8M - I ate em
8iM - Eighty emm

lolol