{"id":82647,"date":"2025-05-28T12:00:44","date_gmt":"2025-05-28T16:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=82647"},"modified":"2025-05-28T12:00:44","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T16:00:44","slug":"bmw-ev-future-frank-van-meel-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=82647","title":{"rendered":"Frank van Meel Says the Next Electric M Will Be Faster Than You Think"},"content":{"rendered":"

We got to sit down with BMW M boss, Frank van Meel, at the 2025 Concorso d\u2019Eleganza Villa d\u2019Este. Subject matters ranged far, but stayed decidedly far from some of the heavier headlines of the weekend. For example, the M2 CS<\/a> surprise visit or the Speedtop Concept debut<\/a>. We covered some familiar favorites, though, including the new (and old) M5, hybridization and electrification, and hypercars (kind of).<\/p>\n

M5 Demand is Holding Strong<\/h3>\n

On a related note, Frank also fielded some questions around the M5\u2019s weight, unsurprisingly. While acknowledging the car\u2019s weight, he mentions that \u201cit\u2019s quicker than its predecessor on the tracks.\u201d He attests that weight was the \u201conly trade off\u201d BMW had to make for making the M5 \u201ceffortless to drive,\u201d citing improved fuel economy, more power, lower emissions, and a smooth powerband.<\/p>\n

And Frank says BMW M treated the M5\u2019s weight problem as they would in racing. Wider wheels, a wider track with wider bodywork, active rear steering, and positioning the batteries low on the vehicle help make the car still behave like an M5. \u201cWe know we\u2019re going to put weight in the car,\u201d he said, but it was calculated. It was the cost of doing business in order for BMW M to use the V8 engine.<\/p>\n

Making The Case For Hybrid and Electric M Cars<\/h3>\n

Long story short: he feels the same way about electrification and hybridization. \u201cWhat we\u2019re currently doing with electrification, once that comes to the market, you will say \u2018I didn\u2019t see that coming\u2019.\u201d He compares it to the F90 M5\u2019s debut, where some heard \u201call-wheel drive\u201d and ran scared. \u201cI said the same with the M xDrive when we came to the last generation M5, that it\u2019s not four-wheel drive. It\u2019s rear-wheel drive with more traction, and everyone was afraid that it would just go straight forward, no rear wheel bias dynamics anymore.\u201d Of course, now, we know that van Meel was largely accurate when he said that. \u201cNow with electrification, I can only say it\u2019s going to be a typical M it\u2019s just going to be much quicker,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Differentiating BMW M EVs From Other Cars<\/h3>\n

A central component to making BMW M EVs drive the way an M car should is engineering. Frank says the idea that BMW M is making an M version of the upcoming Neue Klasse isn\u2019t quite correct. \u201cThat is wrong, because everything we need for M in the Neue Klasse had to be integrated in the whole setup of the Neue Klasse right from the start.\u201d Frank claims \u201cif it\u2019s not in the architecture, it\u2019s sometimes impossible to add it.\u201d That\u2019s where BMW\u2019s Heart of Joy comes in. It\u2019s applicable for every vehicle, whether it\u2019s got a single electric motor or four.<\/p>\n

BMW Hypercar? Eh\u2026<\/h3>\n

We got to sit down with BMW M boss, Frank van Meel, at the 2025 Concorso d\u2019Eleganza Villa d\u2019Este. Subject matters ranged far, but stayed decidedly far from some of the heavier headlines of the weekend. For example, the M2 CS surprise visit or the Speedtop Concept debut. We covered some familiar favorites, though, including […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":82648,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-82647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=82647"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82647\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/82648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=82647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=82647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=82647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}