Former BMW M boss and Maserati CEO killed in freak motorcycle accident
 

<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/etc/" rel="tag">Etc.</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/bmw/" rel="tag">BMW</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/maserati/" rel="tag">Maserati</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/rolls-royce/" rel="tag">Rolls-Royce</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/uk/" rel="tag">UK</a></p><a href="http://www.autocar.co.uk/blogs/tester's-notes/karl-heinz-kalbfell-one-greats"><img alt="** FILE ** The chairman of the luxury car giant Rolls Royce, Karl-Heinz Kalbfell is seen in this July 2002 file picture released by German car maker BMW. Kalbfell has resigned, it is announced Monday Oct. 18, 2004. A company spokesman said Kalbfell is" class="right border" data-caption="** FILE ** The chairman of the luxury car giant Rolls Royce, Karl-Heinz Kalbfell is seen in this July 2002 file picture released by German car maker BMW. Kalbfell has resigned, it is announced Monday Oct. 18, 2004. A company spokesman said Kalbfell is " data-mep="2680" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/GLOB/crop/1404x1999+0+0/resize/250x356!/format/jpg/quality/85/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/adam/1cf5f87d7ec764bfacf98a029 5bf5a98/64c193a509f2da11af9f0014c 2589dfb.jpeg" style="float: right; " /></a>It's a tragic coincidence that on the same weekend the <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/bmw+m4|bmw+m4+coupe/">BMW M4 Coupe Concept</a> was <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2013/08/16/bmw-m4-concept-monterey-2013/">introduced in Monterey</a>, one of the men most integral to BMW's M and Motorsports divisions, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/karl-heinz+kalbfell/">Karl-Heinz Kalbfell</a>, was killed in England. Kalbfell, a vintage motorcycle enthusiast, was set to compete in the Lansdowne Classic Series at Brands Hatch and had an accident during a practice session. After going wide at Druids Corner and falling, he was hit by a competitor following close behind and died of his injuries after being transported to hospital.<br />
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Kalbfell, an engineer, began his career at <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/bmw/">BMW</a> in 1977 in the communications department; a decade later he was chairman of BMW M GmbH, overseeing development of some of the cars responsible for the myth of M. In 1994 he was named chairman of BMW Motorsport, and his cap full of feathers includes getting the BMW V12 into the <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/mclaren+f1/">McLaren F1</a>, getting the BMW V8 into two <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/morgan/">Morgan</a> cars, along with developing BMW's Formula One engine and return to the sport. Not incidentally, he also assumed leadership of Project <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/rolls-royce/">Rolls-Royce</a> after BMW bought the British marque in 1998, which means he oversaw the Goodwood factory upfit and the creation of the <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/rolls-royce/phantom/">Phantom</a>.<br />
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He left Rolls-Royce for a brief stint at <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/fiat/">Fiat</a>, heading <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/alfa+romeo/">Alfa Romeo</a> and <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/maserati/">Maserati</a>, then went into consulting for clients like <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/lotus/">Lotus</a> and Paragon, who built the <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/artega+gt/">Artega GT</a>. As <em>Autocar </em>notes, Kalbfell "had an abiding sense that customers needed to be attracted to cars by their aura and reputation, not just their engineering." He will be missed.<br /><p style="padding:5px;backgr ound:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2013/08/19/bmw-m-maserati-boss-karl-heinz-kalbfell-killed/">Former BMW M boss and Maserati CEO killed in freak motorcycle accident</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblo g</a> on Mon, 19 Aug 2013 09:29:00 EST. Please see our <a href="/rss-term-of-use/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2013/08/19/bmw-m-maserati-boss-karl-heinz-kalbfell-killed/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/20697592/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2013/08/19/bmw-m-maserati-boss-karl-heinz-kalbfell-killed/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>

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