Filed under: Etc., BMW, Maserati, Rolls-Royce, UK
It's a tragic coincidence that on the same weekend the
BMW M4 Coupe Concept was
introduced in Monterey, one of the men most integral to BMW's M and Motorsports divisions,
Karl-Heinz Kalbfell, 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.
Kalbfell, an engineer, began his career at
BMW 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
McLaren F1, getting the BMW V8 into two
Morgan cars, along with developing BMW's Formula One engine and return to the sport. Not incidentally, he also assumed leadership of Project
Rolls-Royce after BMW bought the British marque in 1998, which means he oversaw the Goodwood factory upfit and the creation of the
Phantom.
He left Rolls-Royce for a brief stint at
Fiat, heading
Alfa Romeo and
Maserati, then went into consulting for clients like
Lotus and Paragon, who built the
Artega GT. As
Autocar 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.
Former BMW M boss and Maserati CEO killed in freak motorcycle accident originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 19 Aug 2013 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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