Which are the most famous sub-brands in the world?

You’ve surely heard of the most famous sub-brands; they go by BMW M, Mercedes-AMG or Nismo, but do you know their history?

Some of the most famous sub-brands of automobiles are legends in their own right.
BMW M, AMG from Mercedes-Benz and Abarth from FCA come to mind, but there are many more.

Some have proven so powerful that their owners have promoted them to become full brands in their own right. And the latest candidate is about to hit our roads: the Mustang Mach-E from Ford, a new all-electric crossover that promises up to 600 kilometres of range on a single charge. Purists won’t like it, but how will the new Mustang brand take shape?

In our roundup, we analyse all the most famous automotive sub-brands there have been, in chronological order:

RS 1968 onwards

2018 marked the 50th anniversary of the first RS model (Rallye Sport), the Taunus 15M front-wheel-drive car produced by Ford in Germany.

But another two years would pass before the RS brand truly resonated with the fast-driving fans of Ford, with the arrival of the Escort RS1600. Launched in January 1970, the fast Escort was the work of the recently established Advanced Vehicle Operations (AVO) of Ford, which emerged with a large number of Capri, Escort and Fiesta.

Gordini (Renault) 1968-1978, 2010-2012

Amédée Gordini (1899-1979) began tuning vehicles in the 1930s, but once the Second World War ended he began producing his own cars in limited numbers.

A move from Simca to Renault in the 1950s led to the Renault-Gordini campaigning at the 24 Hours of Le Mans during the 1960s. It also led to the introduction of the Dauphine Gordini in 1957, and then a series of other Renault Gordinis including the 5, 12, 17 and 8.

Renault revived the brand in 2009, to market sporty versions of its Twingo, Clio and Wind, but the effort was short-lived as they were no more powerful. Renault executive Carlos Tavares, today head of rival PSA, seemed to criticise the effort in 2012 when he said they “were not 100% authentic…”

BMW M 1972 onwards

When it comes to prestige, few motorsport brands can match BMW’s M division. Its first road car was the BMW M1, then we got the M5, M3, M6 and more. First established in 1972 as BMW Motorsport GmbH to develop racing cars, the focus had shifted to road models by the end of the decade. In 1993, the division was simply renamed M: very cryptic and, fittingly, reminiscent of a Bond film.

Curiously, and rarely for a sub-brand, M has manufacturer status in Germany. Therefore, the proper M cars have their own separate VIN prefix from the normal BMWs, and the plate on the door sill says “BMW M GmbH” not “BMW AG”, meaning that technically, BMW M isn’t even a subsidiary of BMW. And to this day, M cars are among the most desirable BMWs.

This particular sub-brand also has a sub-brand of its own, M Performance. This is a trim level offered on various BMWs in many markets. It offers a more subdued M look and a discreet M badge, but not the engines that usually go with that badge. They tend to be more desirable and hold their value better than non-M Sport models.

Quattro / Audi Sport 1983 onwards

The UR Quattro reshaped motorsport history and the World Rally Championship, so you can’t blame Audi for milking the brand as much as possible. While Audi’s four-wheel-drive models carry the quattro badge, the German company also established a division called quattro GmbH to develop high-performance RS models and the R8.

In 2016, the division was renamed Audi Sport GmbH, we believe partly because it wanted the freedom to launch high-performance cars that don’t have four-wheel drive. One such car was unveiled at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show: the limited-edition rear-wheel-drive Audi R8 RWS.

Like BMW M, this particular sub-brand has given birth to another sub-brand called S line. This is a trim level on many Audi models, so they get a sporty look in terms of wheels and spoilers, but with standard engines.

Nismo 1988 onwards

It is one of the most famous sub-brands, although it was formed as Nissan’s performance division in 1984, it did not produce a car until 1987, in the form of the Skyline R31. This was followed in 1988 by the Saurus sports car, and in 1990 by the Skyline GT-R. A later Z-Tune GT-R, from 2003, saw 500 CV and a top speed of over 300 km/h, and only 19 were made.

The current GT-R, launched in 2008, didn’t receive the Nismo treatment until 2015; that car features a power increase to 591 CV and a 50% price increase over the standard GT-R.

Cupra 1996 onwards

The story of Cupra begins in 1990 when Volkswagen completed the purchase of its final stake in Spain’s main car manufacturer, Seat. Volkswagen managers immediately looked for ways for the company to extend its identity, and closely observed the Seat Sport division, established in 1985, which led the company’s recovery activities.

From this emerged the most famous high-performance sub-brand, Cupra. It was first used on the Seat Ibiza GTI Cupra Sport in 1996. In 2000, things improved a little with the Leon §5Seath74§, which stood out for being the first and last Cupra to feature a six-cylinder engine.

As with several other sub-brands mentioned here, Cupra was considered so successful that it became a fully committed brand, in its case in 2018. The Cupra range now covers the Ateca SUV, the hatchback and the Leon. It will receive its first standalone model, which will be called the Formentor, in 2020.

Mercedes-AMG 1999 onwards

AMG began as an independent company, founded in 1967 by Hans Werner Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher to make Mercedes-Benzes faster. The ‘A’ and ‘M’ come from their surnames, while the ‘G’ stands for Großaspach, Aufrecht’s birthplace. Initially, the focus was on motorsport, and then came the enhanced road cars.

AMG earned a reputation for its brilliant work, so Mercedes-Benz started sniffing around and took a majority stake in 1999. By 2005, AMG had become wholly owned by Mercedes-Benz and the sub-brand now has its own engine relationships and some technology with Pagani and Aston Martin, and it also builds exclusive AMG models such as the AMG GT. As with BMW’s M Sport and Audi’s S line, Mercedes-Benz also offers the AMG sporty look with standard engines, such as a trim level called AMG Line.

Maybach 2002-2012, 2014 onwards

Wilhelm Maybach (1846-1929) established a company to make very expensive and luxurious cars in 1909, but stopped doing so when the Second World War began, instead turning to engines for tanks.

Daimler-Benz bought the company in 1960. In 1997, Mercedes-Benz revealed that it was reviving the brand and shortly after we got the 57 and 62, which were sold like rashers of bacon at a vegan convention; it turned out the few people for whom the Maybach name still had resonance were either extremely old or not members of the super-rich club who could afford one.

The result was that the Maybach brand was dropped in 2012, only to be revived again as the top-tier Mercedes-Maybach S-Class in 2014. A large Maybach-badged SUV based on the new Mercedes GLS-Class was revealed in late 2019.

Abarth 2007 onwards

Perhaps it is one of the most famous sub-brands, as Carlo Abarth (1908-1979) worked wonders in the 1950s and 1960s, and his most famous was the Fiat 500, although he also worked on many other models. By 1971 he had sold his business to Fiat, which turned it into a faster sub-brand like Ford’s RS.

Long used as a performance trim level at Fiat, in 2007 Fiat established Abarth as a separate brand within its group in some locations, with a view to selling larger 500s and Grande Puntos. It also launched the Abarth Spider, derived from the Mazda MX-5.

Vignale 2014 onwards

It may not be one of the most famous sub-brands, but it is worth mentioning. Italian coachbuilder Alfredo Vignale (1913-1969) established his coachbuilding firm in 1948 in Turin; by 2014 it had become a Ford sub-brand that was expected to become an independent brand, such would be its success. The nickname was introduced to boost the Ford market; its main models would be loaded with the kit and Vignale badges would be attached to create a premium halo brand in Europe.

But the most elegant cabin materials and more buttons to press do not erase the fact that it is still a Ford, which despite its often very good cars is not seen by many buyers as an aspirational badge, and they may be loaded, but they can be Vignales.

Vignale versions are now offered in many markets on the Fiesta, S-Max, Kuga, Mondeo and Focus. Interestingly, Vignale models do not receive model name identifiers, i.e. the words Fiesta or Mondeo, etc., are not found on the vehicles, only Vignale.

Polestar 2018 onwards

It may be one of the most famous sub-brands you’ve heard of. Founded in 1996 as Flash Engineering, the company was renamed Polestar in 2005. Four years later, Polestar began working with Volvo to offer officially sanctioned performance upgrades for its production cars. Then, Volvo acquired Polestar in 2015 with the aim of making it its performance arm.

They achieved the division focusing on producing high-performance electrified cars as a standalone brand. The first model was the Polestar 1, a high-performance petrol hybrid. Its next model will be the Polestar 2, an all-electric rival to the Tesla Model 3.

Mustang arrives in 2020

Ford has struggled for decades with how to extract higher prices for its cars, and an attempt to buy car firms with premium badges such as Jaguar and Land Rover. After withdrawing from that effort, it came up with the super-premium Vignale trim level instead, as mentioned. But for its new all-electric crossover, Ford turned to its famous Mustang badge. Purists are looking the other way now.

The new Mustang Mach-E sports the famous pony emblem on the front and in the centre. In fact, since there is no single blue oval in sight on the car, it could be said that Mustang has jumped directly to the status of a full car brand.

With a single-charge range of 600 kilometres, Ford hopes to take the fight to Tesla’s upcoming Model Y. Time will tell whether this is a new car brand that has come to stay, but whatever happens it is an interesting fortune for the Mustang, which became the world’s best-selling car and an instant icon since its launch in 1964.