No matter the rest of the range; the M Division is remaining devoted to rear-wheel drive and six-cylinder engines, ruling out the possibility of introducing a high-performance four-cylinder in the near future.
During discussions with Motoring at the launch of the M2, BMW's head of production management Carsten Pries said that rear-wheel drive and six-cylinder engines are two important features that attract customers to the M Division.
Quizzed about four-cylinder engines being added to the brand, Pries said: “I hope not, because six [cylinders] is part of our DNA. Not only the power, however, that hallmark sound that we've. If you also look at the M performance models we've added over the last three or four years they have rear-wheel drive as the standard setting and also have six cylinder engines. These are cars that attract new people to the M brand [and its core models] and that is very important."
“This combination of six cylinder engines and rear-wheel drive is not just a USP (unique selling point) in marketing terms however, it is something that really attracts people to our brand", he added.
The most recent example is the M2, which sticks to the recipe while going against the Mercedes-AMG A45 with its all-wheel drive and turbo'd four-cylinder and the RS3's all-wheel drive and five-pot powertrain.