Have you smeared lipstick all over your face or accidentally eaten a baby cactus with chopsticks recently? The BMW Compact Series, launched in SA last month with the help of a huge television ad blitz, looks set to gain a sporty flagship – the M Compact.
Have you smeared lipstick all over your face or accidentally eaten a baby cactus with chopsticks recently? The BMW Compact Series, launched in SA last month with the help of a huge television ad blitz, looks set to gain a sporty flagship – the M Compact.
The legendary motorsport, or “M”, stable of BMW already has sporty derivatives in all the manufacturer’s product range, except for the Seven and X-Series. There are the M3, M5, M Roadster (which wasn’t sold in South Africa) and the M Coupé. And now photographers have spotted prototypes of an M-version of the new Compact series in Munich, Germany.
According to AutoExpress, the wacky coupé will be badged the M Compact and is expected to rival the Audi S3 and forthcoming Alfa Romeo 147 GTA. The M Compact will go in sale in the UK next September, but it will cost the equivalent of R390 000! To justify the price, BMW promises the rear-wheel-drive machine “will be a true enthusiasts’ car that combines performance and luxury in equal measures”, the report said.
Powered by a 150 kW-plus edition of the three-litre six-cylinder engine fitted to the flagship 3-Series, the M Compact will be offered with a six-speed gearbox. “The car will be instantly recognisable thanks to a deeper front skirt, foglamps and sculpted sill extensions, while a new rear bumper will sport a set of chromed exhausts,” AutoExpress reported.
The suspension will also be re-engineered to improve handling, and the M Compact will be shod with multi-spoke alloy wheels and ultra-low-profile tyres. The interior of the car will feature sports seats, revised trim and the traditional M Sport two-tone colour scheme. The M logo will appear on the main dials, steering wheel and gearlever.
Further rumours suggest that an M “styling package” could be optional on the standard 2,5 and two-litre diesel Compact.
