There has been a lot of media regarding what projects have been axed in definitely because of the economic downturn. Here is what the media says about BMW and what is really going on behind the scenes.

BMW

GT lightweight four-door coupé – BMW Concept CS. : CANCELLED
M1 supercar – Production M1 Hommage. : CANCELLED
GT2 (the Z8 replacement) : CANCELLED
GT3 (based on next 3-series) -Next Z4 Coupe : HIATUS
X7, Seven seater luxury SAV with V12. : CANCELLED
X4 coupé Sport Activity Sedan : HIATUS
1-series shooting brake, : ACTIVE
6-series shooting brake : CANCELLED.

Yes we know about the demise of the beautiful CS Concept something I had hoped would have made it to production. Although the V12 was to power the range topper the M Division had plans for a ballistic high performance version of the V12 in which the car which would have been designated BMW 7er Gran Turismo, would have been a serious preformance flagship for BMW.

The M1 Hommage was purely intended for a design exercise only but BMW began to investigate if people would get their cheque books out for a limited production version powered by either the V8 from the M3 or the incoming V8 Turbo found with the X5/X6 M models.
When you seperate demand from the dreamers there was no specific case for a strategy.

BMW have always had one concept in mind for a replacement for a Z8 – The California Spyder Project which made it through the final stages but abandoned for the CS Concept. A Gina style resurrection is on the cards as BMW will show the car in the run up something exciting and highly relevant today , for tomorrow . The California Spyder was a "0" emisssions vehicle as it was purely based on the hydrogen 7.

Whether or not BMW add a Z4 Coupe to the E89 is all dependent on sales response , the previous coupe was introduced to increase sales to the Z4 E85. Now with the two both combined as both a Roadster and Coupe , the need for a coupe model has been diminished. Although a Coupe was created alongside the E89 it offered nothing new designwise except a fixed roof. Sales of the new Z4 have been exceptional so do not expect a return for a Z4 Coupe.

X7 was purely abandoned on the basis that the X5 does the same job , and that a larger premium SAV was the last thing BMW needed to get involved with. The X5 is adequate to be the top line BMW SAV.

As part of the interesting design Concepts BMW intended for a sister vehicle to accompany the X3 to take a new niche and a new approach in defying the conventional approach to an SAV. So the Sport activity Sedan was designed – a commanding driving position with a semi sedan shape was certainly unique and interesting , about the size of a 3er with a very sculpted body and SAV typical road height it would have been interesting to see it in public.

As part of the current move to focus on the compact segment , the segment which will be completely about growth , there are many variations on the new modular structure of the next 1er under discussion for inclusion to broaden the appeal of the 1er for new customers.
And that includes investigating new vehicle trends and specifically indentifing customers needs of what they would would consider in the compact segment.

The GT 6 will be identified by the next generation 6er about 2014.
An additional Shooting Brake has now been terminated in favour of the unique four door coupe configuration.

[quote]

Two engines have been developed and are currently being evaluated either in prototypes on on the bench. No decision has been made because the overall decision relies on what is best for the car.
a KERS system will be a feature exclusive to the M5 and there will be a big noise about this because it is a connection to BMW’s Efficient Dynamics programme.

The super luxury performance sedan segment will be in the hands of ALPINA.

I really hate "high attitude" posts like this because it sums up the ignorance of the poster, Joint development in engines is purely that – jointly developed – then the respective company works on their respective requirements whist keeping the engines individual for the brand.
A BMW developed engine will always inherit the BMW characteristics the Brand showcases so there is no fear to accept that this is a bad thing for BMW.

Whether it’s a mid-life crisis, a teenage dream or just a personal milestone, many people, especially men, mark their life changes with a car – often an expensive one. But that won’t do anything to attract women, according to a new study. Flying in the face of decades of conventional wisdom, the new study, commissioned by Top Gear Australia, shows that there’s no difference in the reaction a typical woman’s brain shows to a any given man whether he’s in a jalopy or a Rolls Royce. Men that are generally regarded as attractive are especially immune to the vagaries of how a car might reflect on their perception. "If you’re a good looking bloke, don’t even worry about it," said Peter Pynta of Neuro Insight, the company that performed the study. More average-looking guys benefit from being shown with just about any car, according to the survey. But some men, such as the typical laborer, aren’t going to meet with feminine approval regardless of the car they’re in. We’ll leave it up to you to assess the veracity of the study’s conclusions.

- Study: High-end cars don’t attract women – MotorAuthority – Car news, reviews, spy shots

…I guess all you need is a Ford Pinto and some Game!

"I’m having some M worries. It’s been happening for some time – like the gradual estrangement that creeps up on a couple who just aren’t getting on the way they used to."

Chris Harris laments the gradual erosion of the mighty M Power BMW

Stuttgart. 22 June 1934 was not only one of the most important days in the early corporate history of the Company now known the world over as Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, but also the day that changed the history of the entire automotive industry: It was on that day that
"Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche GmbH, Konstruktionen und Beratung für Motoren- und Fahrzeugbau" received the go-ahead from the "Reichs-
verband der Automobilindustrie (RDA)" (the Association of the German Reich of the Automotive Industry) to construct and build the Volkswagen.
In those difficult economic times, automobile constructors had had the idea time and again to build an inexpensive car for the population at large. One of them was Ferdinand Porsche who, in the course of his career, had constructed no less than seven compact and small cars for various manufacturers. As the ultimate result of these projects in terms of technology and design he finally developed the Volkswagen concept in 1933, presenting the car to the Reich Ministry of Transport on 17 January 1934 in his "Study for the Production of a Germany People’s Car" (quite simply, the "Volkswagen").
At the end of the day the political leaders back then were also convinced of the concept Porsche and his constructors had developed. So five months after submitting the study, Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche GmbH received the order to develop the car at the initiative of the Reich Government. And while the original agreement was to build only one prototype of the Volkswagen, the RDA increased the order on 7 December 1934 to three cars assembled in the garage of Ferdinand Porsche’s private residence.

The first Volkswagen prototype, the V1 (V = Versuchswagen or Test Car), was ready to go almost exactly a year after the official development brief, Ferdinand Porsche presenting the saloon to an RDA Technical Commission on 3 July 1935. The second test car, a convertible code-
named the V2, set out on its maiden trip on 22 December 1935.
After construction of three further Volkswagen prototypes code-named V3 had started in February 1936, resistance to the project began to build up in the RDA. Quite simply because, with its central tube frame, the torsion bar suspension invented by Porsche and the air-cooled four-cylinder boxer engine at the rear, the Volkswagen was now seen – and feared – as a serious competitor to existing models. A further series of 30 prototypes (VW30) was nevertheless built in 1937 by the then Daimler-Benz AG and tested in a large-scale trial covering a total of 2.4 million test kilometres.
Contrary to the first idea to build the Volkswagen in a joint venture of German car makers, the Reich Government decided on 4 July 1936 to build a separate plant for the new car, the Volkswagenwerk. So the "Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH" or "Gezuvor" for short (the "Company for Preparation of Deutsche Volks-
wagen Ltd") was established on 28 May 1937.
As one of the three managing directors of Gezuvor, Ferdinand Porsche received the official order for the technical development and planning of the future production plant, with construction work starting in May 1938 in the small town of Fallersleben, now Wolfsburg.
On two study trips to the USA, Ferdinand Porsche gained the latest know-how on modern automobile production and the rules to be observed in the production process.
By the second half of 1938 the prototypes, now having reached the level of VW38, had achieved a point in the development process hardly different from the subsequent production model. So now potential purchasers were able to save five reichsmarks a week for the Volks-
wagen in the meantime re-christened as the "KdF-Wagen" forming part of the German Reich’s "Kraft durch Freude" or "Strength through Happiness" strategy.
Priced at an extremely low 990.- reichsmarks, the Volkswagen was really to be everybody’s car, easily affordable for the average purchaser. But due to the War not one of the roughly 340,000 investors reached his savings target and not one single Volkswagen was delivered to a private customer.

Starting in 1939 Porsche developed further variants of the Volkswagen parallel to the "KdF-Wagen" which were however intended for military use. Indeed, more than 60,000 of the jeep-like Kübelwagen, the amphibian Schwimmwagen, and the higher-ranking Kommandeur-
wagen (the commander’s car), some of which featured all-wheel drive, were built by the end of World War II.
Another model based on the Volkswagen was the Type 64 Berlin-Rome Car built in 1939. This motorsport version of the Volkswagen was developed for the Berlin-Rome long-distance race planned for September 1939 and is acknowledged by car historians as the great-
grandfather of Porsche sports cars today. With its streamlined aluminium body and upgraded VW boxer engine, the Berlin-Rome Car reached a top speed of 145 km/h or 90 mph.
Regular production of the civilian Volkswagen started in Wolfsburg in summer 1945 – and bearing the nickname "VW Käfer" or the "VW Beetle", the Volkswagen became as popular the world over as hardly any other car before or after.
The VW Beetle also sets the record in terms of its production life and volume, production of the last VW Beetle still coming off the line in Mexico continuing until July 2003. And accounting for 21.5 million units built, the Beetle is by far one of the highest-production vehicles of all times.
The Porsche Museum is dedicating a Special Exhibition to the 75th anniversary of the order to build the Volkswagen, held from 22 June -
31 July 2009. Apart from detailed information and original pictures from the Historical Archives of Porsche AG, the Exhibition also presents a rare pre-war prototype of the Volkswagen. This very special VW38 from the Volkswagen Foundation Collection was used personally by Professor Porsche, also on many business trips. Another rare car is the prototype of a VW Beetle powered by a diesel engine and built by Porsche in the early 1950s.

Source : Porsche AG

These shots were taken at the Nürburgring by a member of Carspin. Enjoy. :t-cheers:

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