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BMW‘s M division comes up with some pretty crazy ideas – things like M3 pickups and M5 cabrios. Even the X6 M could be safely defined as ‘radical.’ And while some make it into production, there are plenty other awesome projects that never see the light of day.

While giving us a preview of the new M5 Concept, the Bavarian skunkworks division also showcased a few of those stillborn projects. One of them was a CSL version of the recently-departed M6 coupe, unburdened of 220 pounds of excess weight, given a power boost and fitted with active aerodynamics and an electronically deployed rear spoiler. But while the prototype was reportedly fully developed, the beancounters in Munich ultimately passed on its production.

The same fate reportedly befell an M8 prototype that would have slotted in above the 850 CSi. That particular coupe that was available packed with a 375-horsepower V12, but the never-was M8 was blessed with a lofty 550 hp from its 12-cylinder engine. After the M8 project was canceled, the engine was retasked for use in another supercar: the McLaren F1.

Another variant of that high-revving V12 – originally bound for Le Mans duty – was also placed in a first-gen X5 prototype with a six-speed manual, 700 horsepower and a 186-mile-per-hour top end. Another rear-drive X5 prototype developed by the M division was in attendance and, naturally, never reached production, along with an M-ified 318ti (hot), E46 M3 wagon (hotter), E39 M5 wagon (hottest) and one horribly overwrought red roadster (above) with a clear connection to the Z1 and Z3 convertible. And as for the E92-based M3 pickup; it was built as a replacement for beheaded and bedded E30 the M crew developed way-back-when to haul parts.

Finally, last year, BMW toyed with shoehorning the V12 engine into the outgoing M5 to replace its V10 and celebrate the model’s 25th anniversary (it was first introduced in 1985), but found the engine bay just a little too tight for the Le Mans-based engine. Sigh.

You can check out all the stillborn Ms in our galleries below.

Photos copyright (C)2011 Damon Lavrinc / AOL and BMW

BMW M projects that didn’t make it originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 19:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Think of what a future F1 race car might look like and you’re likely to conjure up images similar to the Red Bull X1 prototype. But the fact is, in all likelihood, an F1 car nine years from now will look pretty much like the ones we see today. After all, how radically different are contemporary F1 racers from the ones we saw a decade ago?

You can expect some significant changes to come into effect, though, over the coming decade, as the sport grapples with finding the sweet-spot in terms of spectacle, environmental friendliness and the like. Speaking with Renault F1 designer Pat Symonds, F1 Racing magazine came up with their projection. It takes into account such anticipated features as low-profile tires on larger wheels, ground-effect aerodynamics returning to replace the downforce reduced by the standardized rear wing and a beefier Kintetic Energy Recovery System good for a 250 horsepower boost.

Of course all these projections could prove way off by the time 2020 rolls around, but they could prove spot on. We’ll just have to keep watching to find out. In the meantime you can see the only two images which the publication has released, or head to the newsstand to see more.

[Source: F1 Racing]

Continue reading Foresight 2020: F1 Racing projects the future grand prix racer

Foresight 2020: F1 Racing projects the future grand prix racer originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 18:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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