THE BMW M PRODUCTION LINE IS A SPECIAL PLACE - NOW YOU CAN SEE HOW M PERFORMANCE CARS ARE BOLTED TOGETHER.
The most powerful letter in the world - M. Thanks to BMW M Performance, the iconic ///M is recognised the world over and it is linked to some of the coolest performance cars ever created. It started off in the latter part of the 1980s when the E30 M3 was launched and since then the infamous M badge has appeared on a range of BMW models. These M-badged models are the top-of-the-range versions with the best engines, best suspension, and best components wrapped up in a package usually rated as the best in their respective segments. Over the years M cars have evolved with the times, eventually going from normally aspirated to turbocharged powerplants and from rear-wheel drive to all-wheel drive. The most popular model is undoubtedly the M3, a car that’s often regarded as the benchmark in performance. For as long as I can remember, when someone has built or modified their car, the question that usually follows is “How does it run against an M3?”. That’s saying something. That was back in the days of the E365 and E46 M3, but now that the M3 is turbocharged, anyone building a car with the hopes of it being able to tame an M3 needs to have a massive budget. That’s assuming the M3 in the fight is still stock, which it likely isn’t. With choice mods, an M3 is a beast on the road, drag strip or racetrack. Back in 1986, the E30 M3 was quite specialised with wider fenders, different suspension and a different motor and gearbox combo, which meant it had a separate production line to the mass-produced E30 variants. The E30 M3 was produced for around four years, and under 18,000 units were created. With BWM M cars now available in just about every model line from BMW, it makes sense that there’s now a dedicated BMW M Performance production facility.
In 2023, a great year for the company, over 200,000 BMW M cars were sold, and with the popularity of the M3 and M4 in aftermarket tuning circles we’re sure that number will grow a fair bit when the 2024 figures are in. The current BMW M3 is the G80, that one with the oversized kidney grille up front that you either love or hate, but that does admittedly grow on you. It’s a beast of a car that uses the S58 powerplant, a 3.0-litre inline-six with a pair of turbochargers, and if you have the budget, you can option it with power going to all four wheels. It’s rated at 390 kW with a powerful 650 Nm of torque. Again, easily tunable which means there are loads of 700+ kW versions on the streets. Even the BMW X3M and X5M are starting to be a popular tuning choice, and when your mate has a tuned BMW M car, you’ll also want one, and so will everyone else in the friend circle. Those 2024 numbers are going to be interesting. But the point of all of this is to show you where and how BMW M cars are made, and as usual, that’s thanks to the awesome people from the YouTube channel, FRAME. These guys are properly connected because they get access to all the coolest manufacturing processes for loads of things, not just special cars. In this report, the FRAME crew films the amazing production of BMW M cars in a way that only the folks from FRAME can put together. In fact, if you’re into the technical side of things, it’s a YouTube channel you should click that subscribe button. There’s a lot in the M Car p[production that’s similar to regular series production, but as you’ll see in the video, it’s just a bit more special when the line is full of BMW M Performance parts.
Take a look at the YouTube video from the pros at FRAME as they take us through the almost secretive process of how BMW's range-topping M Performance cars are put together on their own dedicated production facility - this one focuses on the G80 M3: Inside Newest BMW M3 Production in Germany | FRAME
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