It was in 1972 that BMW created a motorsport division dedicated to furthering the brand’s racing activities. It wasn’t long before the fledgling BMW Motorsport (now called BMW M) started messing around with road cars, leading to the dynasty of high-performance, driver-oriented M cars that stretches to this day.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the “fastest letter in the world,” Munich is adding classic BMW Motorsport badging – which consists of blue, violet and red segments encircling the BMW roundel – to its options list. This logo, which can be ordered from the end of January onwards, will be made available not only to buyers of full-fat M cars but also regular BMWs with the M Sport package.
The original BMW Motorsport logo made its debut on a race car in 1973 before being superseded by the tricolour M logo still used to this day. The latter was introduced in 1978 on the first M car, the M1 supercar, which was the only production BMW to use both logos. Until now, that is.
Aside from the new (old) badging, BMW M is also offering not one, not two, but a massive 50 heritage paint options on selected models in 2022. These include iconic hues such as Dakar Yellow, Fire Orange, Daytona Violet, Macao Blue and Imola Red, along with Frozen Yas Marina Blue that adds a matte finish to the F80 M3‘s hero colour.
It wouldn’t be an anniversary without some new models, which is why 2022 will be a banner year for BMW M. The company has already announced it will reveal the first ever M3 Touring wagon, but it has now confirmed that it will also debut a “special” version of the G82 M4 – likely the lightweight GTS model – and the next-generation M2.
The company will also be introducing its first electrified high-performance vehicle in 2022, having already released the first electric M Performance model, the i4 M50, last year. This is widely tipped to be the XM SUV, only the second dedicated M model after the M1, which is expected to utilise a plug-in hybrid version of the S63 4.4 litre twin-turbocharged V8 used in the M5.
The extra electric motor supposedly adds over 200 PS, resulting in a total system output of 760 PS and more than 1,000 Nm of torque. The car will be previewed by the Concept XM, which will be revealed next week.
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