BMW is fascinated by Supercars, but it’s not about to seek entry into the Australian V8 category.
The German marque is at the home of motorsport Down Under this weekend for the Repco Bathurst 12 Hour, which it will aim to conquer with either of its two M4 GT3s.
Also at Mount Panorama is a pair of Gen3 Supercars which performed demonstration laps yesterday and are due to complete another session today.
European manufacturers Volvo and Mercedes-AMG had a fleeting presence in Supercars last decade prior to Gen3, so what does BMW think?
“As BMW, we always scan what’s going on worldwide in motorsport and for sure you always come past the V8 Supercar Championship in Australia because it’s a fascinating championship,” said Andreas Roos, head of BMW M Motorsport.
“It’s very good races, there are also a lot of very good drivers which come out of this championship and it is very competitive.
“For sure it is always something you look at, but also you have to have the right car, the right model which fits into it and your brand strategy, how you want to communicate and how you want to do your marketing.
“So for sure we always look at it and maybe at one time the door opens and it would be interesting, but at the moment, it’s not fitting exactly to our brand strategy and this is why we have to see.
“But definitely it is a very interesting championship and especially as a motorsport fan you will always look at it and the fascinating races.
“Me personally, I love it, but you have to see how it fits in your global brand strategy.”
Current barriers to BMW’s potential Supercars involvement include road relevance and the bespoke factor.
Roos pointed to hybrid V8 power as being relevant to BMW.
BMW’s GT3 and GT4 products are based on its M4 road car and compete worldwide, while technology is at the heart of its international Hypercar sportscar program.
“As soon as we have a road car model which maybe has the genes or the ingredients to what would fit V8 Supercars, then you can draw this link and maybe have the right marketing tools,” he explained.
“This is what is needed. So at the end for us, for BMW, it is very important that we have this road relevance.
“(And) it’s always more difficult when you have to develop cars for specific championships.
“I think the times are over in motorsport where you just develop a car because it’s fascinating and you like the championship.
“It’s more about the holistic view to look how it fits into the whole brand and brand strategy.”
Supercars isn’t the only championship not currently ticking that box, with Roos declaring Formula 1 to be not of interest to BMW at this point in time.
