According the Auto Express and M Division head Dr. Friedrich Nitschke, the long rumored M1 replacement is inching closer.

>“We have a fantastic history with the M1,” Dr Nitschke said. “The decision on developing this car is open. We’d love to do it.”

Apparently the car has been on the drawing board for 11 years but only now with modern technology is seriously BMW considering it. Auto Express theorizes that the car would need a V10 or V12 to compete with the likes of Aston Martin or Ferrari. We ‘d guess that BMW may want to push a more downsized concept with multiple turbos and/or an electric drive added in.

Additionally Dr. Nitschke also mentioned that M is considering doing a follow-up to the Z3M Coupe with the current Z4. However he stressed that no decision has been made.

Finally the company is also looking at being more nimble when it comes to launching special edition models. According to Auto Express a lighter CLS version of the new 1M is on the cars and could be produced in very low numbers rather quickly. We ‘d guess that a model like this would be Euro only and priced according to it ‘s bespoke nature.