BMWBLOG had the recent pleasance of sitting down with Dr Kay Segler, President of BMW M cars. Dr Segler's enthusiasm and passion for sports cars was obvious, in that location was an excitement in his voice we've seldom heard from car executives.

Dr. Segler was very personable and displayed a neat sense of humour, nosotros thoroughly enjoyed our fourth dimension with the man behind Chiliad cars – in fact we ran out of time in our give-and-take!

Read on to learn more about Dr. Kay Segler and the hereafter of BMW M cars.

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BMWBLOG: Tin you tell united states of america about your feel so far leading BMW M?

Dr. Kay Segler: Each and every day is thrilling. I joined on the 7th of May last yr and I would have missed every day had I not been hither.

Thrilling was particularly the fast that, with the team, we could develop the M3 GTS in a very fast time. At the beginning it had no name and then we simply constitute the name afterward.

The other machine, which will be revealed a piffling bit afterward this twelvemonth, lets meet when, is the BMW 1M coupe. We take other products in the making now, the new M5 is in development which will come in the side by side twelvemonth, towards the end of the year. It's fun to do one of these cars. In addition we are not only responsible for the One thousand cars, but as well for the K sport packs, the options, besides as BMW Private and the Driver Training programme. There is a lot of development in these business organisation fields too.

BMWBLOG: What is your vision for time to come BMW 1000 cars?

Dr. Kay Segler: There are sure requirements that need to be taken care of like reduction of Carbon Dioxide emissions. And so the clear chore is to offering "ii cars in one" for our customers. A day-to-twenty-four hours car to drive, then with the push of the M push button yous have a race car. Like in the new X6M and X5M, and you volition run across in the new M5 that you have two cars in i. What is very articulate is that, equally we accept been in the by, nosotros desire to be the youngest performance brand. Therefore we demand this new motorcar that will come out in leap next yr. Nosotros want to be immature. Immature people and kids should be attracted to this brand.

BMWBLOG: What is your favorite BMW of all time?

Dr. Kay Segler: There are so many answers to that question. For case I'm as well a motorbike rider, I like the GS all through the years. You cannot compete with a motorbike against an M automobile similar the E30 M3. So, at that place are a lot of dream cars which I like. I like very much the car which I drive currently, the X6M in cherry-red. It's a fantastic auto and I've already done 15,000 Km on it, it's a tremendous machine.

BMWBLOG: And then maybe to narrow information technology down, what is your favorite M automobile of all time?

Dr. Kay Segler: At the moment, the M3 GTS.

BMWBLOG: What blueprint principles are cadre to the M brand?

Dr. Kay Segler: One thing is e'er important, that the function is governing a lot of Chiliad blueprint. For example, the size of the air intake – and you meet information technology on the X6M for instance – you cannot make it smaller. That car swallows a lot of air, and also the aerodynamics are governing a lot of design and we will not compromise at all. On the M3 GTS we needed that spoiler to give additional road holding. I would say nosotros have the strength in BMW pattern where we already accept a very potent base to work from, and so we add this functionality into it and brand information technology into an M auto.

BMWBLOG: How will BMW K differentiate their turbo charged engines from those of other turbo sports cars?

Dr. Kay Segler: That's a good question, only nosotros are not hither to differentiate ourselves from competitors only to fulfill the dreams of our customers, full stop. I think what we proved with the last car we did, our turbo S63 engine in the XM vehicles – the responsiveness in these turbo engines is second to none, I mean, this is unbelievable.

BMWBLOG: This is doubling back a chip on the last question – what sets M cars apart from the competition, how would you split up Thou cars among other sports cars?

Dr. Kay Segler: I would look at the fact that we are non hither to fight confronting the contest, simply we are here to be number one. Nosotros don't look back to everyone else. The "ii cars in i" approach is something we are doing perfectly and I call back that will exist an important feature in the hereafter. In that location is a trend that, sure yous can make pure sports cars, merely what is the value when you lot have these pure sports cars in the garage and only every third weekend y'all take it out? What'due south the use of that? We don't want our cars sitting in garages, we want to have cars which are driven.

BMWBLOG: Describe the platonic "Grand driver" – who are they; what are they like? Draw their personality.

Dr. Kay Segler: An M driver has a lot of emotion for cars. They have a lot of emotion for driving and going to his or her personal limits. They are eager to apply a car on the racetrack. They are excited for the automobile, but besides for the personality, considering car and driver are one – not two. At that place is one personality out of information technology. Then that customer is talking to his friends, telling them that his machine is the best motorcar in the earth. This is a perfect customer for us.

BMWBLOG: All M cars are at home on the racetrack but some are better suited than others, weight beingness a fundamental factor. Are we going to meet more enthusiast oriented M cars such equally the 1M Coupe?

Dr. Kay Segler: Yes, we cannot talk nearly the future but y'all already tin run across that we take some very thrilling ideas, just people have to await.

BMWBLOG: I'm trying not to pry only it's tough! Tin you tell u.s. about a few design highlights of the 1M Coupe? Whatsoever details are welcome!

Dr. Kay Segler: The ane thing I can tell you is that we will reveal a colour, and similar to the GTS colour, it will non be forgotten. People in some years will recognize it. That's one item.

BMWBLOG: How practice you make an M car more affordable to the masses without losing the brand's cache and prestige?

Dr. Kay Segler: When a young client with a niggling less coin wants to enter the 1000 make they buy a used Grand, and all of the M cars are still around. And so information technology's a question of, do yous buy a used 1000 to enter the make? Is this diluting the brand? No.Then it might be an culling to a immature commuter, either he goes for a used E46 M3 or he goes for this new K coupe. This is not diluting the brand.

BMWBLOG: When it comes to driving dynamics, how do electric current Chiliad cars compare to their predecessors of decades past?

Dr. Kay Segler: 1 strength is that we have a lot of electronics on the auto which gives the driver additional safety backup and very fast reaction times which in the first cars you couldn't have. Therefore I call up that electronics are one of the very strong developments which nosotros accept and nosotros will continuously have in the next years. Information technology gives you better feedback and in certain very critical situations it gives you a back up system.

BMWBLOG: Our readers long for the raw, pure, unadulterated road experience of early M cars similar the E30 where you are and then connected to the route and yous feel every pebble through the steering wheel. It's almost on the rough side – but it gives you that passion and emotion from the car. Will we meet future G cars getting a niggling more to that raw side?

Dr. Kay Segler: The other motorcar which has a similar approach is the M1, you're correct. Most probably [futurity cars volition not be] every bit pure as this so I would advise, just go for buying i of these cars. Y'all cannot repeat these cars, for a lot of reasons – a lot of legislation would not allow that pattern. Therefore it's unique and it'south worthwhile to purchase an E30 G.

BMWBLOG: As a bespoke automotive company, are M cars manufactured differently from generic BMW cars? For example, are portions of them still hand built? Are they prepared at a split location?

Dr. Kay Segler: We've integrated the product of the cars with the exception of the M3 GTS for instance. We've done this because it saves some costs and information technology doesn't compromise any quality. In addition you don't need to button any volume. Once you have a factory only for your cars and you lot run out of need, then you must button volume and that destroys the value of the automobile. Therefore we're very happy that we can integrate product into the factories and they are doing a tremendous chore for us. Because demand is higher than expected, it's also no trouble for them to exercise it for us.

BMWBLOG: And so are at that place whatever engines still hand assembled? Is there an element of hands-on on any current K cars or is that a thing of the past?

Dr. Kay Segler: Yep on the M3 GTS for instance, they are pre-prepared in the manufacturing plant and and then they manus them over to usa to complete them in our manufactory.

BMWBLOG: Does M influence or shape the initial blueprint of BMW cars so every bit to adjust M dynamics in the eventual M car? For example, in the pattern of the new 3 series, does M have any hand in shaping the primal layout of this new machine so that down the road information technology will conform the backdrop of a operation 1000 machine?

Dr. Kay Segler:Not really – the basic shape of a 3 series or 5 serial is independently developed but all the BMW cars in themselves have a sportiness congenital in. And then y'all don't need to utilize spoilers to brand it sporty. Information technology's already in the genes of each and every BMW car, therefore it's quite easy to built on that solid basis.

BMWBLOG: How long is the design process to produce an 1000 car?

Dr. Kay Segler: It depends. Nosotros don't compromise therefore nosotros come up later than the base model as you come across with the new M5, considering we don't want to compromise. On the 1 series M coupe we were very, very fast – I hateful tremendously fast! Nosotros took some risks but we managed it because we are a very minor squad, there is no hierarchy. Basically the principle thought was in June/July of terminal twelvemonth that we might exercise something like this and nosotros will bring it out next spring. And so great task by the team.

BMWBLOG: The express edition M3 GTS is a major success, selling out before its production run ends. Will we see like "weaponized" rails-fix Yard cars beyond the line?

Dr. Kay Segler: "Weaponized," I like that. That's a good i. First of all, secrets are only secrets when they are kept. In full general there is a potential for very specific editions, equally long every bit customers want to have something they volition get it. We don't have a very concrete project running at the moment but we have ambition for such a matter.

BMWBLOG: Could y'all depict M in one word?

Dr. Kay Segler: Pure.

BMWBLOG: Who practice you encounter as 1000's closest competition?

Dr. Kay Segler: Does BMW qualify as an respond? (laughs)

BMWBLOG: As environmental problems evolve and emissions and fuel consumption become of greater concern, new Powertrain technologies are being sought. Will 1000 encompass alternative Powertrain technologies such equally diesel or hybrid power?

Dr. Kay Segler: Nosotros've already announced than in the new M5 we volition reduce consumption by 20 to 25 pct. Past that we are a very articulate leader amid our competition. Other technologies are simply judged by whether they suit our targets or not. When you add also much weight, for example with a hybrid y'all also add together too much weight to the car which reduced handling.

The diesel fuel question is a very interesting one. As long as our primary market in the United States has a problem understanding the potential of diesel fuel, that limits the potential of doing anything in the field. Diesel engines are tremendous engines but the US is our biggest market.

Diesels have race engine potential, we've won 24-hour endurance races with our diesels for many years on the Nurburgring.

Assist united states of america educate other markets about the potential of diesel!

BMWBLOG: As huge diesel fans at BMWBLOG, we will try our best.

Cheers for sitting down with us, we eagerly wait future M products!