BMW’s M division is ready to make a Mercedes-AMG Project One-baiting hypercar, should it get the go-ahead from the firm’s vice-president, Dirk Hacker. However, there are currently no plans to do so.
Mercedes-AMG revealed the Project One at the Frankfurt motor show, with the £2 million hypercar set to go on sale in 2019. It is powered by a modified version of the marque’s 1.6-litre engine and, combined with its hybrid system, produces 992bhp.
“We would like to do a standalone car and we could do it - but today there is no requirement from the market to do it,” said Hacker. “As a company, we are more focused on future mobility than digitisation than building a hypercar, to be honest, but if we came to the decision to do a super sportscar, then we could do that.”
BMW is known to have asked several leading teams - including some with Formula 1 know-how - to evaluate a LMP1 return in order to race at Le Mans in recent years, but it is believed to have settled on racing more production-specific models in lower classes, while putting its works focus and budget on the all-electric Formula E championship.
Hacker conceded that an electrified halo car could have some appeal, but stressed that any such hypercar would be some way off production. “Formula E could be interesting for us. M cars have roots in racing,” he said. “It will be an interesting challenge as more OEMs get involved and there could certainly be the opportunity for some input from our engineering department in the series.”
BMW has pledged to have 12 fully electric cars on sale by 2025, meaning the gathering pace of BMW’s electric car launches could open an opportunity to launch a halo electric vehicle.
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Rumours elsewhere that BMW
Rumours elsewhere that BMW have been talking to McLaren about a joint project - most likely a car using the McLaren Monocell but with a different M Division drivetrain. Is it really what BMW should be doing? I'm not sure...
scrap wrote:
McLaren have showed that they are quite possibly now the definitive sports car maker or at least on a par with Ferrari while their recent cars are nothing short of astounding and are class leaders. McLaren also have design, engineering and technical skills and prowess that are way beyond what BMW can ever hope to achieve so it'd make sense if BMW want to raise their game beyond what they're currently capable of. You only have to compare the i8 to the 570S to see which car is not only superior technically and engineering wise but is also the better sports car too. The McLaren simply leaves the i8 trailing in its wake.
The only issue is would BMW be easier to work with than Mercedes were, a partnership which dissolved when it was clear both companies had differing views of what sports cars should be. You only have to look at the SLS vs the 650S or the AMG GT against the 570S to realise their different approaches, but in both cases the McLaren way has been proven to be superior. Even the Project One seems lumbering and far from stellar design, technical and engineering wise in comparison to the P1 which is already a few years old. I suspect BMW will be just as difficult if the i8 is anything to go by compared with the 570S.
Audi too then?
If BMW is given the green light with their hypercar I'm sure it won't be long before we hear a similar announcement from Audi despite three of VW Group's other brand having already produced hypercars (918, Aventador and Chiron). It's always a case of copy each other when it comes to Audi, BMW and Mercedes.