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Originally Posted by SCOTT26
No. BMW are not interested in the brand ,there is more interest in the production facilities especially for Europe based models.
However the recent partnership with Toyota has allowed the doors to open with Toyota's partnership with Aston Martin not to say an acquirement of the brand is going to happen.
BMW previously looked at Aston Martin when Ford where off loading the company but backed off when Ford retains a stake in the company.
But the Aston Martin Vanquish was brought to Munich a week ago in a truck for BMW executives to have a look at since the Aston Martin boss is exBMW.
But BMW are open to partnerships with other manufacturers providing the requirements are there.
BMW have also looked at Lotus , Saab and even Volvo over the last two years also re-acquiring Land Rover was an objective but turned out to be unfeasable because Jaguar had been integrated into Land Rover that you could not have one without the other.
However Land Rover have followed through on the Original BMW strategy by launching a mini-Range Rover (Evoque) and moving the Range Rover further upmarket than before. Had Land Rover not been sold by BMW the Range Rover would feature a LWB model (in development at the current time) and the inclusion of a V12 model (not considered at the current time).
BMW are now moving forward on their own "Range-Rover" in the guise of the X7 aimed at the broadening market for super-SUVs to combat declining luxury sedans in the global market. The super-luxury BMW SAV will take advantage of the next generation 7er with an exotic mix of Aluminium.Pressed steel and CFRP to bring a significant weight reduction and use a reconfigured drivetrain from the next generation BMW X5. Having previously trialled a V12 in the previous E53 X5. The X7 will feature a further advantage by being equipped with the next generation of V12 engine. As well as the option of a plug-in hybrid model amongst other engine choices.
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The best Range Rover in my opinion was designed under BMW, right before they sold land-rover,maybe they didnt foresee the succes of the third gen Range Rover they developed.