BMW M and i Will Be Kept Separate, No M i-Models

BMWBMWGermany, 1918 > present87 models
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is putting up a united front that the i sub-brand and M cars will not be mixing anytime soon, and the M engineers had no hand in developing the i8.

“It is separate – M and i. It’s two different sub-brands, but there will be no ‘M’ i-car in the future. These [M] are the high performance cars with combustion engines, and on the other side you have the ‘i’ cars with electric drive. They won’t come together.

“I don’t think that it would make sense to mix these two sub-brands in one car. We have the Ms, we have the i, and we have the BMW, the core brand. I don’t think it’s necessary. You look at the car [i8], it’s an i version. You look at the LifeDrive architecture of the car, it wouldn’t make sense to bring M to that,” said Cypselus von Frakenberg, BMW’s head of communications for technology.

Von Frankenberg believes that i8 buyers will be shopping it against a Porsche 911 Carrera SPorsche 911 Carrera SGermany, 2011 > present19 photos
, which is closer to the i8 in price than an M3BMW M4 ConceptGermany, 2013 > present is. However, the 911 has a performance advantage.

“It’s not the fastest, but I don’t think it’s necessary you need the fastest one. The most important thing is that you feel like you drive a real sports car – the agility, the dynamics,” he said.

Carsten Pries, M’s head of product management, agrees with von Frankenberg completely. 

“It’s two different operations, there’s no fluctuation from BMW M to BMW i or any big transfers going the other way. M engineers are among the most loyal engineers, probably the most loyal I’ve ever met,” said Pries.

According to Pries, the i sub-brand will be marketed on its sustainability. However, BMW will not let its two sub-brands compete. Pries says that M has no plans for a sports car with performance like the i8.

Production for the i cars has already begun, and the first deliveries are expected before the end of the year.

Source: Car Advice