Between exclusive concept to reality cars like the Speedtop and Skytop and adventurous new upcoming products like the BMW “Rugged” off-road SUV, BMW has really dipped its toes into the small-volume segment. We’ve learned recently that the brand plans to continue exploring niche models with great interest. A precedent that arguably began with 2022’s 3.0 CSL has led to more bespoke and exclusive models in the past three years than in most of BMW’s cumulative history. And in exclusive talks with Bernd Koerber, Senior Vice President BMW Brand and Product Management, we learned the Bavarians are just getting started.
BMW Will Introduce New Niche Models
Koerber starts out breaking down BMW’s basic brand strategy. First, the automaker focuses on getting the volume segments right. Specifically, models like the 3 Series. “Once we have the volume segments right, we started to look at, ‘what can do with M? How do we deal with niche cars?’” he says. He goes on to include cars like the Skytop and Speedtop, cars that were “small series, very much in the focus of the last two or three years.” Why, exactly, does BMW continue to do things like this instead of invest in more democratized platforms? It’s simple, and obvious: brand pedigree.
If Koerber’s words are gospel, there’s a lot to look forward to, though. “There will be a lot to see, without going into specifics, where we pay into unique areas, things that pay a lot into the brand,” Koerber says. He claims that makes BMW “different from competitors who stay in the mass segments,” which is true. No rival has developed — and subsequently produced — something on the level of Skytop or Speedtop. Even the 3.0 CSL has no real comparison across the rest of the German brands, although Porsche’s more heritage-driven models could perhaps be in the same conversation.
Special Models Make BMW Stand Out
It’s good to hear Koerber hint at more special BMWs being on the way. It’s doubly nice to hear that there’s a focus on brand heritage. Most of this also directly ties into what Koerber said regarding wagons coming to the U.S. market. In fact, his words are almost exactly mirrored on the subject. When speaking of extreme touring models coming to the U.S., he claimed doing so pays into the brand. While that could mean some exotic Touring iterations coming Stateside, it also sounds like BMW is cooking up a hell of a variety dish over the next few years. And, interestingly, the usual competitors seem to be nowhere in sight. We can’t wait to see what Koerber and the brand have prepared for us.
