Opinion: why BMW's M renaissance gives Mercedes-AMG hope

I have never seen anybody with steam blowing out of their ears. Or spitting feathers. But back in 2017 at the launch of the then new F90 generation BMW M5, I trigger an M division engineer into an almost cartoon rage. The walls are covered in glorious old images of BMW race and road cars looking impossibly cool and exciting: leaping over Pflanzgarten at the Nürburgring, power sliding on a wet surface at a tyre testing facility, streaming through those peculiar German roads lined with little white marker posts.

I look around and politely ask, “How did you let AMG eclipse all of this heritage to become the king of fast saloons and coupes?” People fall quiet. He pauses and his cheeks start to colour. I wonder if he’s trying to compose himself before trotting out the company line about recycled interiors, mobility solutions and the other crap BMW was obsessed with around this time while abandoning its wonderful ‘Ultimate Driving Machine’ mission statement.

“You are right,” he says, calmly. “They are now the benchmark.” He sighs, resigned to the simple truth. BMW had let AMG howl in and steal its lunch money. The segment with lovely fat margins that also creates the crucial halo effect now belonged to them and their ever expanding range of badass V8-powered monsters.

The ‘how’ part is what really boiled his blood. Delving into the madness he did start metaphorically steaming from his ears. A 10 minute tirade breaking down how BMW had diverted all its resources and much of its talent to the i8, i3 and other i projects very much did not toe the company line. His impassioned conclusion was devastating and heartfelt. “We had been left to die.”

The good people of Affalterbach recognised BMW’s neglect, or perhaps they were too focused on their own mission to stick a whacking great V8 into everything. Whatever the truth, AMG was an irresistible force as the M division’s power waned. Customers bought into the lunacy. The world was alive with thunderous noises and tyre smoke. Never had German engineering been paired with such a subversive sense of fun. AMG ruled supreme.

And now, all of a sudden it doesn’t. AMGs come and go and nobody notices. BMW brings out the ugliest M3 ever and it’s a sales hit. The C63 S E Performance arrives and, erm, has it actually arrived? Was its launch back in late 2022 a mass hallucination? Have you seen any on the road? AMG has seemingly been drowned by investment in EQ models and funds diverted to such things as 100 per cent touchscreen dashboards. Or cut off at the knees by a basic misunderstanding of why people loved AMG in the first place. A 4cyl C63? Dear Lord. Of course, the sea slug inspired EQ range has been about as successful as the old BMW i cars that nearly killed M.

There is still hope. The day after that dinner on the BMW launch I got to drive the first M5 fitted with four-wheel drive (boo!) and an automatic gearbox (eh?). It was fantastic. The M division was back. And ever since it has been on a roll. We’ve seen the brilliant M2 Competition and CS, the supernatural M5 CS and even that weird looking M3 is largely superb. Especially the estate version. AMG can stop the rot, too. But it needs to act fast.