POWER OF M
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
‘THE M5 REMAINS A CAR YOU WILL ALWAYS WANT IN YOUR CORNER’
DID THE 33-YEAR-OLD JOCHEN Neerpasch know what he was starting when he agreed to lead BMW’s new dedicated motorsport division in 1972? A sidearm of a car company that was already well on its way to positioning itself as the preferred alternative to the rather steadier approach favoured by Audi and Mercedes-Benz, Neerpasch was to grow BMW’s motorsport activities to suit the needs of customers who wanted to compete with a BMW on track as well as enjoying them on the road.
It was an exercise that started with the 3.0 CSL, a lightweight, two-door, rear-wheel-drive coupe powered by a 3-litre six-cylinder engine built to meet the homologation requirements of the European Touring Car Championship. Today it embraces a mix of eight coupes and saloons (including the forthcoming M3 and M4 models) and four SUVs, and this takes into account only the UK line-up, which comprises the Competition models; include the regular non-Competition models sold around the globe and the two dozen M-cars on today’s product plan
