The head of the BMW M division says he has no plans to build a super-wagon, explaining “this is what the SUVs are for”.
Speaking to the United Kingdom’s CAR magazine, BMW M CEO Markus Flasch pointed out fast estates had limited appeal globally.
“Touring estates are not part of our M plan,” Flasch told the publication, despite the fact the new G21-generation 3 Series Touring was revealed in June.
“If I asked customers in Austria, Switzerland or Germany they would probably give it the thumbs-up, but we are a global company and we have so many things to deal with on the powertrain side that we don’t go into products like this. This is what the SUVs are for,” he explained.
Flasch went on to say the M division had adopted a distinct approach to creating high-performance SUVs.
“Look, I am more of a coupé and sports car driver; I never really drove SUVs much before,” he revealed.
“But the M approach to SUVs is that we are trying to transport the feeling you get in an M3 or M4 to the ‘first floor’. It was the goal when we developed the new X3 and X4 M. We didn’t want to do the M version of an X3, we wanted to do an M3 in an SUV appearance.
“The reason for that is quite logical. Not everyone can drive an M3. If you live in an area with bad roads or if you are a mountain biker or snowboarder or if you need the room and have two or more kids – it would work in an M3, but it’s much easier in an SUV body,” Flasch explained.
