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BimmerToday Interview:
Quote:
Frank van Meel: BMW M2 will be the last M without electrification
Frank van Meel is the old and new boss of BMW M GmbH. After three and a half years in another function, the Dutchman took over the helm of the Garching performance division again a few months ago. As part of our first test drive with the BMW XM, we had the opportunity to have a lengthy conversation with the M boss, who will be shaping and directing further electrification in the M Town over the next few years. Electric cars and plug-in hybrids therefore also play an important role in our interview, because saying goodbye to the combustion engine as the only source of power is also unavoidable at M GmbH.
The BMW M2 (G87), which was partially revealed by a leak a few hours ago, will be something of a farewell gift for all purists, because it will actually be the last M model without an electrified drive: Even a 48-volt on-board network is not included board, but for many fans of classic sheer driving, this renunciation of recent achievements is more of an advantage than a disadvantage. The same applies to the manual six-speed gearbox, for the charms of which some would love to do without a few tenths of a second when accelerating. What the current challenges for Frank van Meel have to do with the new BMW LMDh prototype for Le Mans and Daytona and which other topics characterize his current work is best explained by the M boss himself:
BimmerToday.de: Welcome back! How is it back at BMW M after three and a half years in the luxury class?
Frank van Meel: Wonderful! BMW M also developed further during this time, the course for which had already been set. Now it's a bit like having children for me, but the children are already three years old. Many topics had already been decided, for example the revival of the CSL topic or the new approach of having the GT3 racing car in motorsport based on the M4. The topics LDMh and M3 Touring, which my predecessor Markus Flasch initiated, are also extremely nice. I also think it's great that motorsport and M are back together, I had already thought about something similar with Jens Marquardt back then, because M comes from motorsport and the two simply belong together.
BimmerToday.de: It sounds like there isn't much to change when you return?
Frank van Meel: That's right, it just keeps going. The continuity of development was also given in the last three and a half years and now the next push in the direction of e-mobility continues. The XM is just the beginning in the high-performance segment, with i4 M50 and iX M60 and soon i7 M70 there are already corresponding offers in the performance segment. The goal is, of course, to be able to offer fully electric high-performance vehicles at some point. It's not that easy for a variety of reasons, which is why it doesn't exist yet. But the same question also arises in motorsport, because one day there will of course no longer be any basic vehicles with combustion engines. So, just like in the high-performance segment, we have to think about how long-distance motorsport can work fully electrically.
BimmerToday.de: When it comes to power hybrids, the BMW XM naturally also plays a role, a hybrid SUV with an extremely high level of performance. Here you combine the new V8 S68 with an electric motor, which does not exactly speak for lightweight construction. Why has the first independent M for decades pursued such a fundamentally different concept than the super sports car M1, which is its predecessor, so to speak?
Frank van Meel: From my point of view, there are two reasons for this. On the one hand, the M1 comes from a time when sports cars were the ultimate and that was also a boom segment, while the boom segment of our time is the SUV segment. The second reason is that we were still missing an extremely strong but also extremely extroverted model at the top of the M lineup. The demand for such vehicles is currently very high and that is why we are now also involved in this segment.
BimmerToday.de: With an independent body, independent wheelbase and hybrid drive, you naturally move into a completely different league in terms of costs. Are you sure there is a big enough market for this?
Frank van Meel: We firmly believe in it, yes.
BimmerToday.de: One of the backgrounds is that the hybrid drive is not only being developed for the XM, the next BMW M5 (G90) has already been caught with meaningful “Hybrid Test Vehicle” stickers. So is hybridization the way we'll see in pretty much every new M model in the future?
Frank van Meel: In any case, we usually don't develop a new M drive for use in just one vehicle.
BimmerToday.de: With more and more complex technology on board, the weight also increases. How do you manage to make such heavy vehicles as dynamic as M GmbH customers rightly expect?
Frank van Meel: Even if the weight will inevitably increase, the implementation of the right lightweight construction measures is still important. M GmbH has a good story there, not only with the famous M carbon roof. This is still important so that the weight does not become unnecessarily high. The advantage of electrified vehicles is, of course, that the center of gravity shifts downwards because the high-voltage battery is always located under the floor. You can't keep the overall mass at today's level, but we can actually improve issues that are important for driving dynamics, such as body control and roll behavior, thanks to the lower center of gravity. This is really different from the past, where weight gain has always been in the wrong place and the higher center of gravity has led to more clumsiness and roll. So that the center of gravity is as low as possible, our lightweight construction expertise continues to help a lot. In connection with our strengths in the areas of chassis and structural rigidity of the entire vehicle, we can then achieve the precision and agility that our customers expect from an M.
BimmerToday.de: So the impression that some people had when looking at the data sheets for the new generation of M3 and M4 is misleading, namely that lightweight construction is no longer as high on the priority list of M GmbH as it used to be?
Frank van Meel: That's definitely not the case, yes. Lightweight construction has always been a top priority for us and is still a top priority. Vehicles are getting heavier partly for regulatory reasons, partly because they're just getting bigger, but that's why lightweighting is becoming more important rather than less important. Today's M3 also has a lot of lightweight construction features on board, but it is larger than its predecessor, also has more standard equipment and has to meet different emission specifications. The bottom line is that it is still significantly faster than its predecessor, which is a strong achievement.
BimmerToday.de: Will there continue to be M models without hybridization or is the BMW M2 one of the last premiums that only have a combustion engine on board?
Frank van Meel: The BMW M2 will definitely be a purist driving machine with its straight-six and rear-wheel drive. We will see increasing electrification in other vehicles, of course in different forms, starting with the 48-volt electrical system and plug-in hybrids to fully electric drives. From this point of view, the M2 will be the last M with a pure combustion engine drive and also without electrification scope such as a 48-volt on-board network, yes.
BimmerToday.de: With a manual six-speed gearbox, the M2 is a strong offer for purists, but in general the trend is towards automatic gearboxes, right?
Frank van Meel: The trend has been towards automatic transmissions for years, although lately it has stalled a bit. Especially in the M2 segment, there are still a lot of hand switch fans who are looking for something special and have less and less choice. That's why we have a very high proportion of manual transmissions in the USA in particular, even over 50 percent, and in Europe we still had a proportion of over 20 percent right up to the end, even if it's not faster or more efficient than the automatic.
BimmerToday.de: This year 50 years of BMW M will be celebrated, many innovations are already known or at least announced. Can we also look forward to one or the other surprise or are all the main innovations already known?
Frank van Meel: I would like to leave it at that with a quote from my compatriot Rudi Carrell and say “Let yourself be surprised!”
BimmerToday.de: What else have you planned for your second term at the head of M GmbH?
Frank van Meel: There are actually three main topics: How does the transformation towards electric mobility take place in such a way that an M remains an M and becomes better than its own predecessor? How do we manage to transfer knowledge and technologies from motorsport events with the M4 GT4, M4 GT3 and LMDh to our high-performance vehicles? And the third important topic we call internally "Expressive Luxury", this is about serving a growing demand for very expressive and very individual vehicle wishes.
BimmerToday.de: Alright, we remain curious and wish you every success!
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https://www.bimmertoday.de/2022/06/0...ktrifizierung/ |
