It’s difficult to believe, but BMW’s M division has been churning out some of the finest performance machinery under the sun for 40 years already.
Established in 1972 with a team of just eight engineers, BMW Motorsport GmbH, as it was known back then, was tasked with facilitating BMW’s racing programme which commenced with the creation of the 3.0 CSL “Batmobile”. From there, the division went on to create such racetrack-to-road specials as the M1 and built the might V12 engine that powered the McLaren F1.
By 1988, BMW Motorsport GmbH numbered 400 employees and was churning out a series of BMW road cars with specially modified trim lines, engines, transmissions and underpinnings. BMW M GmbH, also known as M-Technik or just “M”, then went on to create such segment-defining models as the M3 and M5 series models. In recent years, the model expansion has even seen M-engineered SUVs such as the X5 M and X6 M emerge, as well as the latest iterations of the M5 and M6 and the visceral 1 Series M Coupe.
Here we take a look at some of the models that have rolled out of the M division to make an indelible impression on the motoring world.