tachyon

Posted on Leftlane News:

The automotive press has long reported BMW's not-so-secret plans to rival the Mercedes SL-Class with a high-performance luxury successor to its Z8 roadster. But another successor to an equally iconic BMW may also be in the works ? an "M10" design to follow in the footsteps of the M1 supercar.

Powered by an up-rated version of the company's popular 5.0 liter V10 engine, the M10 would take on the Audi R8 and Porsche 911, according to Germany's Auto Zeitung.

BMW reportedly considered using a mid-engine layout, but instead elected to stick with what it knows best: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive. So far, development has been handled exclusively by BMW's M division, the report says.

One key distinction between the M10 and Z9 projects is weight. While the Z9 will focus on luxury and feature a folding metal roof, the M10 will come with a fixed roof only, with low weight being the focus of the program. According to the sources, the M10 will weigh under 3000 pounds thanks to exotic materials like carbon fiber and magnesium.

Styling is said to be inspired by the BMW CS Concept, which offers a glimpse of the automaker's future design direction. Whether the CS four-door-coupe will see production itself remains a mystery. Auto Bild recently reported series production of the CS is unlikely.

Holy Mother of God. Can you imagine 550HP hauling around only 2,950 pounds? I'm guessing at these figures, obviously, but what kind of HP could an up-rated version of the V10 produce? I can't think of any car available right now with such an incredible power-to-weight ratio.

pinguhk

sounds good Hope they do build it a new M1 supercar that what BMW needs a Sports supercar, hard to look at the real, super light, veryfast and cost loads of money, Not M5 or M6

Centurion

I can already hear the photoshoppers going to work.

UUronL

Granted, the layout of the 8 series was different (front-engined), but it bore a striking similarity to the M1 (yet was unsuccessful from a business standpoint). I have actually seen a real M1 in person - gorgeous car. Part of its allure though is its rarity. I think any mass-produced homage would cheapen the original in the long run.

Ricracing

The old M1 is now a classic and a very expensive car, even as a failure it was.

But now BMW has the 1-series that can be baught with the old N52 engine as a 130i.

New 1-series cars are coming; the coup? and a convertible.

This spring the 1-series was also launged as a 3-door model.

They just need to put in the N54 3.0 twin-turbo engine and a new, faster than ever M1 is born.
Tune up the engine to 350 hp and 450 Nm; easy as a new M1 coup?.

finalevolution

Seems to me the BMW could take the recent retro trend and bring back the M1. The old one had a very decent drag coefficent, so only minor tuning would be needed for the body. Throw in CF and the V10, and it could be a retro beast. No one else is going retro with their super cars, so it could definately be a cool move for BMW.

I love the original, especially the widebody... but the wheels were quite possibly the ugliest in BMW history