Rogue Culture Aficionado

BMW is exploring a plan to build "a breakthrough green supercar" by the end of 2012.

The new car would rival the Audi R8 and forthcoming Mercedes SLC, and has been described by company insiders as ‘a puristic two-seater that draws on all the very latest BMW technology, lightweight build processes and has been rumored to pay homage to the M1 model.


In the late 1970s, Italian manufacturer Lamborghini entered into an agreement with BMW to build a production racing car, under the Motor sport division, in sufficient quantity for homologation. The result was sold to the public, from 1978 to 1981, as the BMW M1. It was the first and only mid-engined BMW to be mass produced. Only 456 production M1s were built, making it one of BMW's rarest models.

It seems the M1's design has remained in Bimmer's sub-conscious waiting for the right time to be unleashed... and boy are they about to unleash a real monster.

As the flagship of BMW’s Efficient Dynamics program, the as-yet-unnamed new model will be capable of combining super car performance and driving dynamics with fuel-saving technology such as direct injection, brake energy regeneration, and stop-start. But the car will still maintain CO2 emissions on a par with, or better than, a mid-range 5-series.

The car will be mid-engined, with power most likely to come from a re-tuned version of the company’s twin-turbocharged, 3.0-litre straight six petrol engine. BMW is also considering introducing it with a kinetic energy recovery system similar to the one that the company’s F1 team will be using next year.