Meet BMW M's Secret Prototypes

The high-performance division of the Bavarian brand, BMW M, is celebrating a historic milestone this year: 50 years of production. To honor its 50th anniversary, BMW M is doing everything it can, including a special round badge, reviving the CSL nickname on the M4, and unveiling new products such as an M3 Touring. As part of the year-long celebration, BMW M will exhibit eight prototypes, some of which have never been shown to the public, housed in what the company calls its M Secret Garage.

In the first part of a series, BMW M showed three of the eight cars, all part of CSL’s unreleased development. The first car shown looks like a standard BMW M3 CSL E46. However, under the hood, the M3’s S54 inline-six engine is nowhere to be found. Instead, this M3 CSL Prototype E46 houses the S62 V8 from the E39 M5. While the production M3 CSL produced 360 hp, this V8 produces around 400 hp. The brand also further reduced the weight of the assembly.

Three of the eight BMW M prototypes

The only car we recognized was the BMW M5 CSL from the E60 generation, which was built as a one-off in 2009. It has a V10 engine, now displacing 5.5 liters and producing around 621 hp at a staggering 9,000 rpm. The interior was stripped out to reduce weight considerably. In addition, the model featured a dual-clutch gearbox, unlike the production model. Unfortunately, this car never got beyond the development stage.

The video also shows a similar car, an E63-generation BMW M6. This car also contained the S85 V10, although this one is original, plus a carbon-fiber engine cover. Inside, this particular M6 has a minimalist interior with Alcantara surfaces and two switches to control the prototype’s active aerodynamics. BMW M was testing a pop-up rear spoiler and an electronically operated front splitter that never made it to production on the M6.

https://youtu.be/xNi4WYksi3o