Markus Flasch, Ex-BMW M CEO, gives an overview of the future M models.
Many of us are curious as to what goes into a particular model. There are many manufacturers who are open and willing to share the history behind specific models. BMW is one of these manufacturers, and it’s happy to share stories about the CSL as well as the Touring.
Markus Flasch, former CEO of the BMW M Division, spoke out to describe the hard work that his team did on the new models. Flasch served as the M division’s boss over the past three years, before he handed the reins to Frank van Meel, his predecessor. Flasch is now the CEO of Rolls-Royce, and his new role in BMW Group is very different from that of the M division.
Flasch spoke about the future M4CSL and a short behind-the scenes story of M3 Touring with Auto Motor und Sport. The ex-BMW M boss stated that it is not necessary to conceal the CSL and confirmed its launch during the short interview. During a brief chat with German publications, he even described it as an open secret.
Flasch also provided some details, saying that the back seats had been removed in order to lose weight. Flasch also stated that they aim to lose three times as much weight for the new car. He could have been referring to kilograms rather than pounds. If this is the case, and we are looking at at least 100kg, that roughly translate to 220 lbs., which is a significant decrease. The standard M4 with manual transmission weighs in at 3,690 lbs (1.674 kg).
Flasch stated that the M3 Touring model almost didn’t come to fruition. Flasch noted that the transformation of the 3 Series Touring into an M car was not part of the company’s overall strategy. Ex-BMW M chief, he said that the division’s engineers worked hard to achieve it. He said that Garching, a Munich town, had created a prototype for it out of nothing. He translated it from German and said that the object looked like a U-Boat coming from the workshop.
Flasch gave the green light to the Skunkworks project. However, the next hurdle was convincing a board to make it a serial production model. An anecdote from Flasch also indicated that the board approved the project because the prototype was well-built. The approval of this model is in many ways similar to the E30 Touring story.
This is not the first time that engineers have tried to convince big-names to produce an M3 Touring. Although there was an E46 HTML3 Touring prototype, it was abandoned in the end. The M3 Touring was not realized until 20 years later. This is why there are many expectations about the long-roof M3.