EVs and most potent BMW yet mark M division's 50th

Best-selling performance sub-brand plots transition to electric future

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BMW is to launch a wave of new performance models in the 50th anniversary year of its storied division, among them some of the most powerful combustionengined models it has yet produced and its first pure-electric sports cars.

As it hits 50 this year, M division is on the cusp of a transformative era that will see it phase out its range of petrolpowered coupés, saloons and SUVs to replace them with highpowered electric alternatives, in line with BMW’s pledge to ramp up EV production.

From 2025, the firm will usher in its third-generation EVs atop the all-new Neue Klasse platform, which will be entirely scalable for deployment in cars equivalent in size to both the 2 Series and X7. Capable also of hosting PHEV powertrains and hydrogen fuel cell systems, it will replace the FAAR and CLAR structure in use across BMW’s line-up, but not before those architectures have hosted an array of sporting models from M division. Last year, M sold more than 160,000 cars to become the world’s best-selling performance sub-brand. FELIX PAGE

M2 COMPETITION

Perhaps the most keenly anticipated and highest profile launch on BMW’s agenda for this year is that of the G87-generation M2, which will take the formula of the acclaimed Mk1 model and uprate it across the board to strengthen its position as a leader in the sports coupé segment.