The high-performance branch of vehicles owned by BMW, the M series, is celebrating its 50 years in May of 2022. And this time to celebrate this milestone, the German car manufacturer will be offering retro-inspired badges for all M models and standard BMW vehicles with M Sport packages.
From the start of next year, Bayerische Motoren Werke will be offering an option of choosing their retro-styled badges for its vehicles as a 50 year present for their loyal customer base. The newer badge will still have the current BMW badge at the centre. The current logo will be three semicircles in its iconic blue, violet, and red colours on a white base creating an illusion of movement.
History of BMW M Series
BMW M GmbH is better known simply as the BMW M series. It is a specialist branch of BMW that specializes in producing high-performance motor vehicles. This project was started in the late 70s to help out with BMW’s motorsport programs.
It began as a passion project with a handful of employees who wanted to get the most out of a BMW vehicle. Today a company that started with only 35 employees is now manufacturing one of the highest-rated performance vehicles in the world.
BMW M Series Today
BMW produces vehicles that are packed with power whether you are driving on the track or in the streets; it, without a doubt, provides a hair-raising thrill. Even after five decades, they still aim to push the limits and produce even better-performing models; BMW will cater to you whether coup is your style or convertible.
The current models have drastically improved from the early M1 or M535i. The newer vehicles come with an unmatched 50/50 weight distribution, advanced M xDrive and M-engineered suspensions and differentials, which takes these performance vehicles to a new level.
The current range of BMW include:
- M3 Sedan
- M4 Coupe
- M4 Convertible
- M5 Sedan
- M8 Coupe
- M8 Convertible
- M8 Gran Coupe
- X3 M
- X4 M
- X5 M
- X6 M
Celebrating 50 years of high performance
Having a formidable spot in the world of motorsport is not an easy task. And BMW has shown the world that innovativeness and high standard engineering can get you to the top without fail. To celebrate their 50 years of achievement with their M series cars, BMW has decided to offer customers an option to choose their retro badge for their vehicles which was first seen in 1973 on the M1 model.
The German manufacturer has also decided to bring back some paint finishes from their 50-year history and the badges. The colours they have decided to bring back include:
- Dakar yellow from their 1994 BMW M3 E36
- Fire orange from their BMW E92 M3 GTS
- Daytona violet from their 1995 BMW E36 M3
- Macao blue from 1988 BMW E30 M3
- Imola Red from 2004 BMW E46 M3
By March 2022, all the M models will feature the new badge, but customers can request these new tokens as early as January 2022. So, if you are in the market to purchase an M series and are into celebrating 50 years of this beast of a machine, do request these novelty badges.
What’s in store for BMW’s future?
BMW has a lot of plans for the future even further to improve the performance of their vehicles. A new M3 is around the corner based on the G20 3 series. Soon after that, a radically designed M4 will also launch in the market.
There is also news of a compact M1 hot hatch to be launched, which will feature an all-wheel-drive and enough juice to compete with cars such as 400bhp+ Mercedes AMG A45S and Audi RS3.
Along with that, BMW is also taking a turn towards launching its first-ever high powered M-only hybrid vehicle. The date is not confirmed yet, but there are talks of BMW XM to be launched somewhere next year as the 50th anniversary present from BMW to itself. This car will be powered by a V8 hybrid engine that will deliver a power of more than 740bph.
More about BMW XM
After making some changes to the XM model to comply with the regulations, BMW will start production in 2022. The design of this hybrid was inspired by BMW’s current SUV lineup and their M cars, plus some additional bravado. This design showcases aggressiveness, with the rear end fitted with cat-like LED lights, M quad exhaust, and BMW logo milled into the glass. In addition, instead of having exhaust pipes fitted horizontally, this model has them mounted vertically on the side of a wide diffuser.
The front of the car features enormous kidney grilles outlined with LEDs. The whole model is designed to be flashy and ostentatious brut in a good way. Not many details have been released about the car’s specs, but if the exterior is this impressive, so will be the specs.
With all these upcoming developments with BMW, the wait till next year will be a long one. However, BMW is known for continuously improving its vehicle and presenting innovative machinery, so they are the manufacturer to look out for in 2022.
Bio
The author is an automobile enthusiast and has been working at Adrian’s as a Manager for over six years and, in her free time, likes to write informative blogs about automobile industries to help people make informed decisions.
Adrian’s is the highest rated car wrecker in QLD and offers customers an easy way to sell their unwanted car within 24 hours and pays them the most competitive amount of cash for unwanted cars up to $9,999 and free towing services.
