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Unfortunately it's true that BMW have postponed the debut of the M1 Concept.
I'm able to share some information SCOTT thankfully provided:
It turns out that the BMW board members drove an M1 prototype earlier this week and asked for siginificant changes due to some problems affecting the car as well as changes to the car including more weight reduction and a new Brake Energy Recovery System.
If I understand this correctly, these changes will affect some of the power output of the car (read: it will get more power) which also confirms that an power boost for the M3 will be imminent in 2012.
Another significant factor that played a role to this decision was the current economic climate, which made BMW feel that it should put the focus on products coming to the market soon. There are several production models arriving at Geneva for market introduction, hence it is important for BMW to focus on products which are about to go on sale.
But, there's always an upside to such decisions and in this case, it's that BMW has extra time and an extra budget to do some extra work on the M1 concept before its initial introduction.
When's the M1 concept being shown then, you ask? Well, the most safe bet would be on an appearance at the Paris Motor Show in Autumn with some, but little chances to have an eariler debut at the Beijing Motor Show. An appearance in Beijing would make sense as China has become a growing and important market for M products.
Finally, the production version of the M1 will arrive early in 2011.
It's surely a downer to many of us that the M1 won't make it to the Geneva Motor Show. But, the reasoning sounds valid to me. Some extra time for an even better car is nothing we should complain about. I'm sure Scott will fill us in with more details and I do hope for some more teasers also. It's also my understanding that this decision has little to no effect on the schedule for the production version M1. It was never supposed to come out earlier than Spring 2011.
Best regards,
south
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