BMW’s iconic M for Motorsport brand celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and at the recent Goodwood Festival of Speed the German automaker gave the new BMW M3 Touring and BMW M4 CSL their UK debuts.
The M brand was established in May 1972, initially to build on the company’s presence in motorsport, but later with a series of road cars badged up with the famous M marque.
The M brand is now considered the premium trim-level of every BMW in the range, though the company does also offer ‘M Sport’ upgrades to cars in its line-up. The German car maker also has an even more exclusive range of M Performance models to further expand the classic series even further.
Recognisable for the specific BMW kidney grille, large air intakes, flared wheel arches and side skirts, the current list of M models include the M3 (G80 saloon), M4 (G82 coupe), M5 (F90 saloon), M8 (F92 coupe) as well as the X3 M, X4 M, X5 M and the X6 M.
At last week’s Goodwood Festival we saw the first ever BMW M3 Touring, with the car also sporting MotoGP branding, as it has been adopted as the Safety for MotoGP and will also be present at the British Grand Prix in August. According to the company’s press release, the M3 Touring offers an ‘intoxicating blend of exhilarating performance and practicality’.
“The world premiere of the new BMW M3 Touring represents another highlight in our anniversary year, as we will be introducing a BMW M3 as a touring model for the very first time in our 50-year history,” said Franciscus van Meel, CEO of BMW M GmbH. “Including this new high-performance automobile in our fleet of MotoGP safety cars is the obvious next step for us. Throughout our decades of partnership with MotoGP rights owner Dorna Sports, we have always set great store by providing the newest BMW M models for safety purposes at the circuit, and we are continuing this tradition with the BMW M3 Touring MotoGP Safety Car.”