Two important developments have taken place at BMW this week, including one that could finally mark the entry of a high-performance luxury model from its Motorsport division.
Before we move on to that, it seems like BMW has invited itself to a party that Porsche started. A patent filing was leaked showing BMW working on a seven-speed manual transmission. The first take is like a regular mechanism that uses a clutch pedal while the second variant reveals a shift-by-wire mechanism that shifts gears using an electromechanical actuator.
An electromagnetic fluid inside a shifting module is relied upon to prevent drivers from damaging the gearbox by engaging the wrong gear. The viscosity of the fluid changes to stop the lever from engaging a shift.
Meanwhile at the product development central, talks have reopened of a performance variant using the 7 Series. Coincidentally, along with a handful of other new names, BMW has trademarked the M7 name without revealing intentions. It is usual for a company to protect unused but related names from being hijacked by rival car makers, but this move could have something more than what meets the eye.
The M7 is tentatively a direct competitor to the Mercedes S63 AMG and the Audi S8.
Over the past few days media reports have surfaced claiming that the CEO's of important markets for BMW are pushing the headquarters for approving the performance variant in the foreseeable future and that the sentiment of the board members are changing.
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