+++ Some of us are curious about the thought that goes in a certain model. Thankfully, there are manufacturers that are willing and open to share the backstory behind certain models. One of them is BMW , and it’s gladly sharing storied about the M4 CSL and the M3 Touring. Markus Flasch, the former CEO for the BMW M division, recently told the work his team put in the new models. Flasch was the M division’s boss for the past 3 years before passing the reins back to his predecessor, Frank van Meel. Flasch’s new role in the BMW Group is quite the opposite from the M division as he now becomes the CEO for Rolls-Royce. Flasch talked about the future M4 CSL, along with a brief the behind-the-scenes story of the M3 Touring. During the interview, the ex-BMW M boss said that there is pretty much no point in trying to hide the CSL, pretty much confirming its future launch. He even called it an open secret during his little chat. He also gave a few details about it, saying that the back seats have been chucked away in the pursuit of light weight. Not only that, Flasch added that they are aiming for a triple-digit weight loss for the new car. That said he could be referring to kilograms instead of pounds. If that’s the case and we’re looking at at least 100 kg, that roughly translates to 220 pounds, a substantial decrease. As it stands, the standard M4 with a manual transmission tips the scales at 1.674 kg. As for the M3 Touring, Flasch said that model nearly didn’t happen. He noted that turning the 3 Series Touring into a M car was never even part of the company-wide strategy. The division’s engineers fought hard for it, said the ex-BMW M head. He added that the folks from Garching (a town in Munich) suddenly came up a prototype of sorts one out of nowhere. His exact quote translated from German said, ‘It appeared like a U-Boat from the workshop’. Flasch gave the thumbs-up to the skunkworks project, but their next hurdle was convincing the board to make it a series production model. His anecdote also said because the prototype was so well-built, the board green-lit the project. In many ways, the approval of this model is similar to the E30 Touring story. It’s not the first time a band of engineers tried to convince the bigwigs to make an M3 Touring for production. There was an E46 M3 Touring prototype that was built decades ago but the proposal was ultimately nixed in the end. It took about 20 years before the idea of an M3 Touring became reality, so there’s a lot of expectations riding on the long-roof M3. +++
+++ BMW is gearing up for the launch of the facelifted 8 Series Gran Coupe. The updated version of the brand’s swoopy flagship saloon will go on sale next year, with a few updates designed to keep it competitive with the Audi A7 and the recently updated Mercedes CLS. The masking on the prototype makes it clear to see where BMW’s designers have spent their time. The revised 8 Series Gran Coupe will get a revised front bumper, reshaped headlamps and a tweaked rear diffuser. New tail lights will also feature, and will carry the same U-shaped signature as the 4 Series. I still haven’t had a good look at the car’s interior, but we’re not expecting any major changes. The refreshed 8 Series Gran Coupe will stick with the current car’s 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and 10.25-inch infotainment system, although it’ll be loaded with the latest version of BMW’s iDrive software which should add support for over-the-air updates. The current model’s engine range will also be carried onto the facelifted car. So, the entry-level 840i will be powered by a 340 hp turbocharged 3.0-litre straight-6. Above that, there’ll be a 320 hp 3.0-litre diesel in the 840d, while the flagship M850i will come with a 530 hp 4.4-litre V8. All 3 engines will be linked to an 8-speed automatic gearbox as standard, with the most powerful model also featuring four-wheel drive as standard. There’s no word yet on whether the 8 Series Gran Coupe will be available with any form of hybrid drive. The addition would certainly make the car a more well-rounded rival for the Porsche Panamera, but the packaging constraints of the sloping coupe body may make it difficult to squeeze in the extra technology. Either way, BMW’s CLAR architecture (on which the 8 Series is based) is compatible with the company’s latest plug-in hybrid technology. The 3.0-litre powertrain used in the X5 xDrive45e would make the perfect candidate, and would give the Gran Coupe an output of 394 hp and 600 Nm. +++
+++ When times are tight, cash is king and for many car makers, with the millstones of the CHIP CRISIS , pandemic, rising raw material costs and more dragging behind them, times have never been tougher. But as they continue to tighten the screws, reducing spending in every conceivable way, from squeezing suppliers to cutting off marketing, spare a thought for those caught in the ripple effect. Around 150.000 people work directly in manufacturing in the UK, but at least five times that number have jobs that depend directly on cars being bought, sold and maintained, and a huge multiple of that benefit from the tax, spending and more generated as a result. So while we look in wonder at the record profit margins coming out of many manufacturers and retailers as they seek to optimise a crisis, consider the litany of industries caught in that spending freeze. For a brief time, cars were being made ready for semiconductors to be dropped in at a later date; now in many cases they’re just not being made. As a result, it seems almost inevitable that the car industry is set to be a laggard in terms of post- pandemic recovery. Globally, automotive accounts for around 3% of all econoic output, but in the UK and Germany, for instance, automotive exports are reckoned to be the most economically valuableoutput bar none. For many nations, if automotive is suffering, so too are they – and on this occasion, there’s no obvious solution but to just grin and bear it. Last quarter’s financial statements underlined that alarm. Low points include Jaguar Land Rover revealing it has outstanding orders for 125,000 cars it can’t make and BMW and Mercedes indicating that the semiconductor crisis might not be fully resolved until 2023. While those order banks are a sign of good times to come, that’s cold comfort for businesses going to the wall or workers facing redundancy now. Remember, too, that it was exactly this kind of single-minded saving that caused the crisis in the first place. Semiconductor orders were cut because nobody was buying cars, with little to no consideration for the fact that suppliers would find business elsewhere. Could it happen again? On a small scale, stories of high-precision, highly skilled engineering firms diversifying into new areas are already circulating. Nor will the turbulence faced by the car industry end when semiconductor supply ramps up. Raw- material prices are rising across the board, the spectre of electrification remains and how we buy, own and drive cars is in question. In that change lies huge opportunity – but how many will be prepared to wait to be able to seize it? +++
+++ MCLAREN has denied being bought by Audi, after a source reported that the German manufacturer had acquired the whole group to secure it an entry into Formula 1. In a statement, the brand said the story was “wholly inaccurate”, adding: “McLaren’s technology strategy has always involved ongoing discussions and collaboration with relevant partners and suppliers, including other carmakers, however, there has been no change in the ownership structure of the McLaren Group”. An Audi spokesperson had no official comment to add at this stage, but Reuters reported yesterday that Audi was “open to cooperation opportunities”. Earlier reports that BMW was interested in the Woking brand were subsequently dismissed by the Munich firm. McLaren has been operating under heavy financial pressures despite an injection of capital late last year following a refinancing worth up to £500 million. McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt stepped down from his role after 8 years last month. A McLaren takeover would have given Audi access to another supercar brand alongside Lamborghini, which it controls. It would also have opened up the possibility of Audi engines powering McLaren. It would not, however, give Audi control of McLaren Applied, the arm of the group that specialises in electrification systems for both road and track, as that was sold to a private investment group earlier this year. It is unclear what the implications of any Audi-McLaren tie-up would have been on the now-finalised partnership between Rimac and Bugatti, which has been devised with the aim of developing all-electric successors to the Nevera EV hypercar and the soon-to-be-retired Bugatti Chiron. From an F1 point of view, the deal would have ensured the Volkswagen Group, which owns Audi, had direct access to an entry into grand prix racing. Volkswagen has been involved in discussions over the specification of a new F1 powertrain due for introduction mid-decade and has been openly considering a commitment to the pinnacle of motorsport. Audi sibling brand Porsche is also considering a return to F1, as new motorsport boss Thomas Laudenbach told recently. It is thought the most likely route for Porsche into F1 would be as a powertrain partner to an existing team, with Red Bull (which is currently building its own independent powertrain department in Milton Keynes) considered to be the most likely option for such a deal. +++
+++ PORSCHE boss Oliver Blume confirmed that the Porsche 911 hybrid was happening. “It won’t be a plug-in hybrid, but it will be a very sporty hybrid from motorsport”, he told. Blume didn’t go so far as to say when the 911 hybrid was debuting. Autointernationaal speculates the electrified coupe would arrive around the middle of this decade. It’s not clear what Blume means by the 911 hybrid having “a very sporty hybrid from motorsport”. I wonder whether he’s hinting that the model would share technology with the Porsche LMDh endurance racing prototype that’s coming in 2023. There are no powertrain details about this vehicle, but the class requires there to be electrical assistance for the combustion engine. Porsche also competes in Formula E. It’s possible that Blume could be hinting at adapting some of the electric tech from that open-wheel racer for the 911 hybrid. Spy shots and videos already show the 911 hybrid testing at the Nüburgring. For now, Porsche seems to be testing the vehicle without rear seats. This is possibly to make room for the batteries. We don’t yet know whether the brand intends to make the production version a two-seater or if the modification is only for early development. In a previous statement, Blume said the 911 hybrid was going to be “very powerful”. The output could be around 700 hp, according to one rumour. The plan is to put the emphasis on performance rather than improved fuel efficiency so that the model arrives as something really special. The 911 hybrid reportedly joins the range around the time that the 992 generation receives its mid-cycle refresh. This points to the electrically assisted variant launching in 2023 or 2024. Blume also told that there was no decision yet about building a fully electric 911. All signs suggest this version is not happening until the 2030s. +++
+++ As U.N. climate conference delegates considered how to save the planet over the weekend in Glasgow, TOYOTA ’s chief executive was in Japan racing an experimental hydrogen car; a vehicle he says could preserve millions of auto jobs. The colourful Toyota Corolla Sport that Akio Toyoda steered around the Okayama International Circuit in western Japan was powered by a converted GR Yaris engine running on hydrogen. Making such a powerplant commercially viable could keep internal combustion engines running in a carbon-free world. “The enemy is carbon, not internal combustion engines. We shouldn’t just focus on one technology but make use of the technologies we already possess”, Toyoda said at the track. “Carbon neutrality is not about one having a single choice, but about keeping options open”, Toyota’s latest push into hydrogen tech comes as the world’s biggest carmaker joins the rush to win a share of the growing market for battery electric vehicles (BEV) as the world tightens emission regulations to meet carbon-cutting pledges. Although still only a small portion of vehicles on the road, global electric car registrations in 2020 grew 41% even as the overall car market contracted by almost a sixth, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). By 2025, Toyota plans to have 15 EV models available and is investing $13.5 billion over a decade to expand battery production.At the gathering in Glasgow, 6 major carmakers, including General Motors, Ford, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz signed a declaration to phase out fossil-fuel cars by 2040. Toyota declined to join that group, arguing that much of the world is not ready for a shift to EVs. Another notable absence was Volkswagen. “We don’t want to be seen as an EV maker, but as a carbon-neutral company”, Toyota vice chairman Shigeru Hayakawa told in an interview. Hayakawa likened the technological choice facing the auto industry to the late 19th century contest that pitted direct current electricity transmission against alternating current. The stakes are high. “If the adoption of carbon-free fuels happens quickly, that could bring the first battery EV boom to an end”, said Takeshi Miyao, an analyst at auto industry research company Carnorama. In Japan, where mass layoffs are politically difficult, hydrogen’s allure is that it would cause less disruption than a full switch to EVs. The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association estimates the automotive industry employs 5.5 million people. Although Toyota and other car makers are putting resources into building hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCV), none have shown the appetite Toyota has for hydrogen engine technology. One problem is that the engine is not completely carbon-free and cannot therefore be classed as zero-emission. Although the byproduct of hydrogen and oxygen combustion is water, a small amount of engine metal burns as well, resulting in about 2% of the emissions of a gasoline engine. The exhaust also contains traces of nitrogen oxide. There is a carbon cost to building electric car batteries, but EVs do not pollute when operated. Hydrogen cars also need bulky pressurized tanks for their fuel. Much of the rear seat and trunk in Toyota’s hydrogen car was taken up by fuel tanks that blocked the rear window. Safety concerns meant Toyota engineers had to refuel the vehicle far from the pits where other teams worked on their cars. Such concerns have also slowed the construction of hydrogen fuelling stations in Japan, despite Japanese government backing for the fuel, which it sees as a key component in the country’s future carbon-neutral energy mix. At the end of August, there were 154 hydrogen stations in Japan; 6 short of what the government wanted by the end of March. “Hydrogen has long been known as a potential low-carbon transport fuel, but establishing it in the transport fuel mix has been difficult,” the IEA said in a progress report this month. Even with adequate fuel infrastructure, Toyota still must build a vehicle that can compete in price, range and operating cost with conventional gasoline cars and EVs. In Okayama, Toyoda declined to say when Toyota might launch a commercial hydrogen-engine car. “It’s good to have a lot of choices. If everything becomes EVs then much of that industry is in China”, said Eiji Terasaki (57), who had travelled to the Okayama circuit from neighbouring Kagawa prefecture to watch the races. +++
+++ Sports car maker TVR has announced a joint venture with a lithium mining company, Enscorcia Metals Corporation, which it says will both help fund production of the forthcoming V8-powered Griffith and “ensure the supply chain for TVR’s future battery requirements”. Enscorcia describes itself as a lithium innovator, mining ‘green’ lithium in South America by a patented, environmentally considerate brine extraction process, and processing the materials in Europe and North America. Chairman Daniel Layton said the TVR deal is the result of “a tight synergy and alignment” between the 2 companies and future electric TVRs will be “among the most exciting EVs in the market”. TVR boss Les Edgar has confirmed that the company is already working on future electrified models, as well as developing the existing car beyond the Griffith launch edition already revealed. He said the Enscorcia deal “is a hugely important element in ensuring that TVR will become a sustainable, net-zero business”. Meanwhile, TVR said it is on schedule to move into its new, extensively refurbished production base in the Ebbw Vale Enterprise Zone, about 50 km north of Cardiff, in the first quarter of next year. The factory (which will be the first in the world to adopt designer Gordon Murray’s i-Stream lean manufacturing process and is part-funded by the Welsh government) is likely to need an 18-month fit-out, but TVR bosses say production development of the cars themselves is proceeding in parallel. TVR has yet to announce an official launch date, but the first Griffith V8 production cars are likely to reach their owners before the end of 2023. +++
+++ VOLVO is considering building a third plant in Europe in order to boost its production capacity beyond 1.2 million vehicles per year, a company spokesperson said. The company was planning on building another European plant by the middle of the decade to meet its production target of 1.2 million vehicles a year, quoting Volvo Cars CFO Bjorn Annwall. A company spokesperson said by email to Reuters that the company was already able to produce 1.2 million vehicles annually at its 2 existing factories and wanted to increase its capacity beyond this amount, but no plans had been finalised as of yet. “What we can say at this stage is that no decision has been made. However, Volvo has grown rapidly over the past decade and aim to continue to grow at a similar pace going forward”, the spokesperson said. The Gothenburg-based company, which became Sweden’s second largest listing yet after its IPO in late October with a valuation of $18 billion, currently produces around 800,000 cars a year at its 2 factories: 1 in Sweden and the other 1 in Belgium. “We need both our plants in Europe, but we need more. That’s why we want to build a third plant”, Annwall said. Where that plant will be located is not yet clear, he said. +++