Exclusive Interview: Dr. Kay Segler, BMW M boss, on the future of M brand

A regular now on BMWBLOG, Dr. Kay Segler, BMW Chiliad CEO sat downward with us i more time to discuss the hereafter of Yard make and what to anticipate from the most emotional division within BMW Grouping. The chat shifted from the fans' current favorite BMW, the 1M, to the upcoming F10 M5 and a potential new emotional M car that could arrive within the side by side 12 months.

To brand the interview even more interesting, Dr. Segler invited u.s.a. into the "secret" Security Vehicles room where a BMW 7 Series Security was being displayed for anonymous and very important customers. Recently, BMW M segmentation took over the development of the security vehicles and Dr. Segler shared with the states the reasoning behind this.

BMWBLOG: Since nosotros are in the Security Vehicles room, can you elaborate on  the transition of this development to the M brand?

Dr. Kay Segler Basically, the armored cars, as well as the authority cars, constabulary cars, etc. – all these cars are in a way special cars, they demand special attention, and basically this fits to what we are all-time able to practice. That is the reason why they were added. Information technology is a very interesting business. Nosotros also offer all the commuter trainings; the Driver Training is also role of the One thousand Segmentation. It totally fits our values.

BMWBLOG: And now moving to G cars, how practice you envision the time to come of BMW M?

Dr. Kay Segler Bright! I remember the most of import thing is that you have to lead the team to believe the future can be shaped, and not governed by destiny. And as yous encounter, the 1M Coupe was such an example, where you simply can exercise information technology and y'all want to practice it. And therefore I say 'bright' considering we have a good squad, a strong team and every bit long as there is a business case for a vehicle, then we can decide to build it.

"I foresee a 'bright' time to come…because nosotros have a good team, a strong team"

BMWBLOG: Did you run into the curt development time being a disadvantage on producing the 1M?

Dr. Kay Segler No, because we combined the time with clear decisions. When there was a give-and-take, for instance "shall we have manual and double flaps and/or automated"?, it was pretty clear, we had merely one shot and said "No", we only had one shot and we went for the right choice and that was it. Then the engineers can proceed, they don't need to divide their attention to other points. Therefore, I recollect when you have express time, limited resources, you must be pretty clear on what yous want to accept and what you don't want to take. Three colors, for instance. And in one case you make these decisions pretty early in the process, then it's fine.

"…when you have limited time, limited resources, you must be pretty clear on what you want to have and what y'all don't desire to have"

BMWBLOG: Is the customers' 'response to the 1M what you have expected?

Dr. Kay Segler No.

BMWBLOG: Is it more than you expected?

Dr. Kay Segler Aye (grinning). As we already discussed, we were also curious what would exist the color choice, what is the most favorite one and when we got the results, nosotros were pretty astonished that all three colors had basically equal shares in polls. The info came out of our role, based on buyers' opinions.

BMWBLOG: Tell us almost the engine development – how hands-on is BMW M with engine evolution? This includes current and futurity models besides.

Dr. Kay Segler For the engine that nosotros had in the 1M Coupe, we had a very solid base of operations for the engine, so we already had 90-95% of the engine complete. Otherwise nosotros couldn't have washed information technology cost-wise or cost-wise, at least not in due time. When it comes to the M5, on the other hand, we – and you will see it in the future – we share a certain architecture with other coming engines as well. Then it'south clearly divers who's responsible for which function. For instance the exhaust manifold – that is clearly a specialty from us, nobody but the states could touch that idea. (Our Annotation: BMW has a patent on this technology which was introduced in the X5M and X6M engines).

"…the M5 [engine], on the other hand, will share a certain architecture with other coming engines as well."

BMWBLOG: Why the shift from naturally aspirated engines to turbocharged engines in M cars?

Dr. Kay Segler Starting time of all, equally we discussed, we have no dogmas. I wouldn't say "shift", only just define that "this or that technology" is the right applied science to use. And we're not thinking "I shift from hither to there", but rather decide "that's the right affair to do". Whether it'south different to what we did, information technology'due south a second question.

Then what is the reward of turbo engines?

Fuel consumption is i of them, and a disadvantage tin be that they are not revving as high equally naturally-aspirated engines. But we define our turbo systems as "high-revving turbo engines", and when you look into the rev rate, it's much higher than in normal aspirated engines in other cars. Just compare it to some of our lovely competitors, and you will see we are revving higher than our cars of the past, but besides college than competitors' engines. Therefore nosotros can't compare turbo with turbo.

BMWBLOG: You lot were saying most the rev limit. What importance does sound play in the feel of an M car? Considering that's one thing you keep hearing from people – that "it doesn't have the same sound, it's a turbo engine".

Dr. Kay Segler Sound has mayhap two functions: the one similar in an opera, when the play starts, you are there in the motorcar or in the opera, the play begins. And the sound must definitely fit to the play. Simply and so a more important thing is when yous make an experiment – when you put ear plugs or y'all cover your ears to the extent where y'all basically hear null, so just go do a drive on the race runway. Most probably yous volition feel disoriented after a short while, feeling very strange. So the sound for us is a feedback and the feedback orientation is very important. Once you accelerate, y'all exactly feel and hear – okay, that's the dispatch you lot go, that is what volition happen, and so on. Therefore, that's the aspect we're looking in sound. I would not back up concepts where you simply have a disconnected sound.

BMWBLOG: Are you lot trying to get more than people behind the cycle of an G auto by making the 1M more "mainstream"?

Dr. Kay Segler Is the Formula 1 auto a good automobile?

BMWBLOG: Well, it depends on what you want to do with it.

Dr. Kay Segler Exactly. The same is true for all cars. There is a big difference in what you want to achieve with the concept – and that must exist crystal articulate. So with the 1M Coupe, the purpose is to really cater for immature people, and to present the argument that we are the youngest make in that segment, that we are setting trends towards the younger people, which means there must be a articulate-cut, easy-to-empathise machine, and that's the 1M.

"And so with the 1M Coupe, the purpose is to really cater for young people, and to present the statement that we are the youngest make in that segment"

If you are more sophisticated, more experienced, more technology-savvy and can afford a higher cost, then the M3 is the pick. Then I think it's not a question of deviating, is about which character is being offered to the customer.

BMWBLOG: In a previous interview we had with Dr.Theissen, he said that the M3 is the pinnacle of the BMW G . My questions are: does this put whatever force per unit area on your group to develop a better car all the fourth dimension, and 2d – practice you use the feedback that you get from Motorsport, to build hereafter M cars?

Dr. Kay Segler Yes, especially since the discontinuation of the Formula 1, we are concentrating very much on the M3 – peculiarly M3, likewise Z4, but M3 in particular, and for case we are building the M3 GT4 in our company, and our friends at BMW Motorsports are running the cars. It's a very intense cooperation, and maybe will exist more intense in the future. That's the focus of what we both do and I guess in the hereafter in that location'due south also i other technology that nosotros definitely can use direct from the race plan.

BMWBLOG: Without getting into specifics most time to come cars, practise you encounter culling drivetrains being available in M Cars? Will we run across an electric 1000 hybrid or a diesel Yard car?

Dr. Kay Segler Peradventure in that location are two limits when it comes to technologies or drivetrains. Allow'due south consider drivetrains. The one is if there is a business concern case and whether information technology fits within the brand. When you talk electrical, just take any electric machine and run it along Nurburgring – hopefully you'll make it back to the start. Then it's some other auto, with another purpose. Then for a race machine, that concept doesn't fit.

When it comes to diesel, we were the 1 winning first in the Nurburgring 24 hours race with the diesel, and diesel is such is an interesting concept. BMW engines are brilliant from the technology side and information technology would exist an interesting concept, merely if the markets were supporting diesel.

It'due south a compassion that big markets like United States and China are not supporting diesel – all Latin America isn't really supporting diesel, nearly every Asian country is not supporting diesel, including Nippon. So so you are basically express more or less to Europe, peculiarly very potent in Southern Europe- Italy, Spain, so that makes information technology difficult to run whatsoever business organization case for a diesel concept. But only from the sportiness point of view, diesel is maybe not for a pure racecar, but for performance cars it is very interesting.

BMWBLOG: In the past few years, we've seen a lot of competition coming from the performance premium segment: we have the RS5, the AMG cars, etc. What differentiates Grand from the contest?

Dr. Kay Segler When you lot pb, you don't look left and right. We can just explicate where we come up from, from Motorsport, and we also feel that nosotros have the obligation to set up some new trends, like for instance we set a lot of trends like the carbon fiber roof, and carbon fiber parts.

Another trend –peculiarly through the engineering of turbo – nosotros can create a lot of horsepower and I myself inquire "Is this horsepower really the right thing to practice?" As long as the competition reacts "We do more horsepower", permit them do it, maybe there'south a fourth dimension when somebody else will say "That's ridiculous", "merely put the correct horsepower into the car that fits to the car". Full stop.

And in a style we already did this with the 1 Series G Coupe. With 360 horsepower, would it be a better car? No, I don't call up so. What'southward appropriate is more important. And the contest thinks always to react with "more, more, more, faster, faster, faster". And that is not what really counts. This 1M Coupe has about the aforementioned horsepower like a 911 Carrera, that'southward fine enough. Information technology'southward perfect. I would not dare to look for 360 hp. It'southward non necessary. So I judge our obligation is to modify some trends. And you lot will see nosotros will do one other thing that will surprise the competition.

"And then I estimate our obligation is to change some trends"

BMWBLOG: The 1M was considered to be a special projection. Are in that location any other special projects, emotional, M-pure, that we might see? Ane that comes to mind is E92 M3 CSL, from an enthusiast signal of view. Or E46. Is in that location as business organisation case for one of these projects?

Dr. Kay Segler We are currently looking into something called "bespoke idea", where nosotros feature perchance a material technology. I cannot tell yous more; let's see where nosotros end with it. In instance this gets interesting, we might see this particular car within the next 12 months. Not to brand a business organization case here, but just to tell that you can practise some new things with materials. I know it's unclear, but just to give you the direction: it's the hint that we see the obligation for u.s. to promote something, and then I'one thousand sure everybody will look at it and perchance if nosotros'll come across this in another car in the future, that's fine.

"We are currently looking into something called "bespoke thought…"

BMWBLOG: Information technology'due south not but with K cars, only in general, with every generation that comes out there is a concern that the machine grows in weight, in dimensions. Is this something that we'll go along to see in the future?

Dr. Kay Segler Yeah, you're correct. In that location were some of the competitors' cars, where whatsoever horsepower you lot put into a automobile, yous don't get the result you lot want to go. Putting ane,000 horsepower in an elephant doesn't requite yous the feeling y'all want to accept. You would prefer to accept one horsepower into a horse, and experience amend.

So the weight discussion is definitely a discussion that we likewise focus on. It's very difficult, everybody knows that for instance y'all tin can cut ii cylinders only you add a turbo, and so it's a dilemma. Then you have all the new safety regulations, where at that place'south pedestrian safety, airbags adding weight, etc. So basically all the regulations are adding weight faster than you tin reduce the weight. But the direction is clear – nosotros take to attain performance through weight reduction.

BMWBLOG: So we'll probably see more than carbon fiber existence used in the cars.

Dr. Kay Segler Yeah. And to support your statement, BMW was the leader in carbon fiber. At present with all the new cars and our some other sub-brand BMW i and other projects, we'll include carbon fiber with our SGL joint-venture. Information technology's us leading the technology move at the moment. And you can look that we use each and every part of the technology besides in M cars. In some cases we might even exist able to utilize some other carbon fiber technology, considering our customers can beget it, in a way. It might be more expensive or besides expensive, just in expensive cars you tin test it into a kind of a prototype.

BMWBLOG: To lead you into a question about the X6 1000, are there whatsoever limits to M cars?

Dr. Kay Segler Why fix any limits?

BMWBLOG: Because with the X5 M and X6 M there was a limit that was clearly crossed, and that was earlier you came on board.

Dr. Kay Segler Why non to cross a limit? What's the problem with it?

BMWBLOG: Well, you're losing that M-pure, correct?

Dr. Kay Segler When you lot're driving the X6 1000, it's two or three or four unlike vehicles for several purposes. Are y'all crossing a line as a Formula 1 driver when y'all bulldoze dwelling house from your F1 racetrack with your motorbike? No!

"When you're driving the X6 M, information technology's two or three or 4 different vehicles for several purposes."

BMWBLOG: And then tin can yous draw the X6 Chiliad driver, then? Because information technology'due south clearly different from the M3 driver.

Dr. Kay Segler First of all, currently I'chiliad still driving a X6 Yard. The fascinating thing is that the road holding of this auto is unbelievable, and that makes the difference much more than torque or engine concept or whatever. Y'all have the feedback which you cannot accept in any other vehicle I know, of that size and course. And if you lot desire to go skiing, for example, with a family of four, everything fits in, it'south fine – simply I don't want to use any other car, I want to use a Thou car.

BMWBLOG: Nosotros also come across a difference between the X5M driver and the X6 Chiliad driver

Dr. Kay Segler Aye, some say y'all demand to exist a little bit bolder to drive such a car. Nosotros are selling more X6s than X5s, in the M Division.

BMWBLOG: Without getting into specifics about the new M5, how would you depict the new car? What's the message it's going to send when it comes out adjacent calendar month at Shanghai Motorcar Show?

BMW M5 Rendering

Dr. Kay Segler Strong, bold, M5. It's a business car with a pushover push, that changes it into a sports car. Then y'all just demand one garage instead of two. It's a expert offer.

"Strong, bold, M5. It's a business car with a pushover button, that changes it into a sports machine"

That'southward a typical car and I'thousand delighted when I meet some interviews of others saying they desire to do other cars which are more for day-to-24-hour interval use. Our customers – we know exactly that they want to employ the car from Mon to Lord's day, not equally weekend cars. Our cars need to exist driven, our customers desire to drive them, and that'due south a perfect car – you can use it as a business organisation machine as well as a sports automobile.

BMWBLOG: Final question: what is the nearly important awareness stimulated by driving a M car? Is it tactile, sound, smell, sight, driving experience?

"with Chiliad cars, y'all're one with the motorcar. You lot're not riding a car; you're one with the automobile"

Dr. Kay Segler Cannot reply this ane. It's a total experience. I retrieve that what sets u.s.a. apart is that with M cars, y'all're one with the car. You're not riding a car; you're one with the car. With all the sensations included.

Dr. Segler, Thank you for your fourth dimension!

patelboweache94.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.bmwblog.com/2011/03/08/exclusive-interview-dr-kay-segler-bmw-m-boss-on-the-future-of-m-brand/