"BMW M-Series celebrates the 50th anniversary of these legendary German performance cars, detailing both its production and motorsport stories with expert commentary and fascinating photography. BMW launched the Motorsport, or ""M"", division in 1972 to formally support its growing and successful racing program. Wisely, BMW leveraged that racing credibility to create limited-edition, high-performance production cars, the first being the M1 supercar of 1978. Tested and tuned at a dedicated facility located at the legendary Nurburgring, BMW's M cars are true ""driver's cars"" focused first and foremost on handling and performance. Still, they are docile enough when not driven aggressively to serve as comfortable high-end daily drivers.
Since the late 1980s, the range of M models has broadened considerably and now includes coupes, convertibles, and sedans in M2, M3, M4, M5, and M8 flavors along with high-performance X-series M SUVs. Early M cars like the M1 and late 1980s M3 and M6 are now desirable collector cars welcomed at top collector auctions and commanding premium prices. With decades of racing and production success and, literally, no signs of slowing down, BMW's M cars hurtle full speed to their 50th anniversary in 2022. BMW M offers the history no Bimmer fan will want to be without."
By:
Tony Lewin
Foreword by:
Jochen Neerpasch
Imprint: Motorbooks
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 305mm,
Width: 248mm,
Weight: 1.438kg
ISBN: 9780760368480
ISBN 10: 0760368481
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 28 September 2021
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
FOREWORD By Jochen Neerpasch, founding CEO of BMW Motorsport GmbH 1 The Power to Win Inside the performance culture of BMW’s M Division 2 Motorsport Is in BMW’s Blood A century of success on two wheels and four, in F1, Touring Cars, Le Mans—and in the air 3 From Racetrack to Road The heat of competition breeds brilliant cars for BMW customers 4 M1: The Elegant Inspiration The BMW supercar that became an icon—and how it nearly didn’t make it into production 5 The 1980s: M3, M5, M6—the Gen-1 Favorites First generation M-Division customer cars deliver dazzling performance 6 The 1990s: Hitting the Big Time Six-cylinder M3 and V-8 M5 raise the dynamic benchmark ever higher 7 The 2000s: Peak Performance, Peak Complexity More cylinders, more revs, more power and speed—and arguably the best M3 of all 8 Excursion Off-Road: The M SUVs Contentious at first, the hotshot X5M and X6M soon won the world over 9 The 2010s: First-Generation Turbos—M Takes a Chance From the wild 1M Coupé via the svelte M5 to the fast and furious M4 GTS 10 The 2010s: First-Generation Turbos—M Takes a Chance From the wild 1M Coupé via the svelte M5 to the fast and furious M4 GTS 11 M6, M8: The High-End Coupés Lavish lifestyle meets racetrack dynamics: a recipe for success? 12 M6, M8: The High-End Coupés Lavish lifestyle meets racetrack dynamics: a recipe for success? 13 Turning Down the Heat: The Nearly-M Cars M-Performance models are a Tempting halfway point to full-house M Cars 14 Shaping the M Story: Inside the Design Studio How does an M Car stand out from the crowd? Secrets from chief designer Marcus Syring’s studio 15 Today, Tomorrow, and into an Electric Future CEO Markus Flasch on why zero-emissions M Cars will deliver even more thrills ACKNOWLEDGMENTS BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX
Tony Lewin is a lifelong automotive commentator and industry analyst and has spent most of his career testing cars, analyzing them, and reporting on the ups and downs of the global enterprises that build them. He has been a regular writer and editor for Automotive News Europe and launched several pioneering titles for The Financial Times as well as contributing regular columns for other national and international publications. Today, Lewin divides his time between journalism, books, and translation work. His titles for Motorbooks include BMW Century, How to Design Cars Like a Pro, The Complete Book of BMW, and Speed Read: Car Design. He also translated Junkyard: Behind the Gates at California's Secretive European-Car Salvage Yard for Motorbooks. He lives in East Sussex, England.
Reviews for BMW M: 50 Years of the Ultimate Driving Machines
Verdict: Highly Recommended. This fine book by automotive writer and industry analyst Tony Lewin provides a level of detail which will satisfy even the most ardent BMW enthusiast. -- Joe Sherlock * The View Through The Windshield *
