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BMW M boss rules out wagons

BMW M will leave Audi and Mercedes-Benz to fight it out in the fast wagon market, focusing on SUVs to cater for practically-minded buyers.


Speaking with CAR in the UK, BMW M boss, Markus Flasch, said there's not enough demand for wagons – or estates, in European parlance – to justify developing cars like an M3 or M5 Touring.

"Touring estates are not part of our M plan," he said. Fairly unequivocal.

"If I asked customers in Austria, Switzerland or Germany they would probably give it the thumbs-up, but we are a global company and we have so many things to deal with on the powertrain side that we don’t go into products like this. This is what the SUVs are for."

Along with the recently-revealed X3 M Competition and X4 M Competition, the boffins at BMW M are working on hotted-up versions of the new X5 and X6.

Locally, the X3 M Competition is expected to be the best-selling M car, even compared to the less expensive M2 and upcoming new M3.

Speaking earlier this year with CarAdvice, Flasch laid out what we can expect from the upcoming M3 line-up. It's likely to have the same torque converter automatic transmission as the M5 and X3 M, but a manual option is expected to feature as well.

A range with multiple drivetrain options – rear-wheel drive and switchable xDrive all-wheel drive – is on the cards, while power will come from the same S58 inline-six debuted in the X3 and X4 M Competition.

As the model develops, expect to see a range of lighter, more focused versions appear.

"CSL stands for light weight, CSL stands for racetrack ability, and for the purest M character that you can achieve on a car that's still got licence plates on it," Flasch told Australian media over a phone linkup from Munich.

“We will see more limited editions, especially models like the CS and you can imagine the CSL,” Flasch said.

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