Not me. I want a Mini I can drive, not one that just looks pretty and has a huge pricetag that i'd be worrying about taking it out.
W&P are being true to their own heritage as coach builders. I once took a Margrave 1275GT for a test drive when one cropped up in a local "Arthur Dayleys" - it was hard work turning the carpet back to check the sills for tin worm it was that thick, the rest of the interior was also of a seriously high standard. It was also quiet and rattle free on the road but shifted about as well as a standard 998 thanks to the added weight. I'm sure, amongst the city players that haven't yet thrown themselves off Canary Wharfe, £25-30k for a car that will get round Central London just as quick as a Porker, cost less to run, and turn more heads will have some appeal.
BMW would tie anyone up in so much red tape, they wouldn't feasibly have the money to even get it to court. I have seen one of their Legal documents, telling people not to use name etc, they are huge. Most would be bankrupt before it even made court, which is why most companies that have been challenged over use of the name/shape/whatever have not been able to fight it.
I'm sure that's the impression BMW want to give when they put the company solicitors to work. BMW would have to do the running as the plaintiff and would have far more at stake than the other party if they did take it to court and lost. It costs nothing to ignore someone, and they can only compel you to deal with them in court. They might talk up their case, like the Soviet Nuclear Deterrent, but it doesn't mean they'd be fool hardy enough to allow someone to call their bluff for the cost of half a dozen Binis.
Intellectual property rights exist for the good of Humanity, to help anyone who invests in bringing a new product to the market have the opportunity to recoup their investment and make enough of a profit to make it worthwhile - once you've had your go, everyone else is let in on the act to try and make it better and cheaper (branding it Matsui or Amstrad is optional). If the intention was to provide a meal ticket for life then Patents and Registered Designs would last forever and we'd probably all still be tootling round in Model T's - at least the few of us who could actually afford one.
They may get aroound BMW's trademarks, as they are planning on building them to order for customers, instead of marketing them as new cars.
Stick someone else's (bona fide) trademark on your own products and they have a very real chance of suing you for the damage you do to their reputation and any business you've knicked off them. You could also attract the attention of the Criminal Justice System if they thought you were deliberately pretending to be BMW to make a quick buck. What badges you stick on your own car, once you've bought it is entirely a matter of your own taste (well nearly - as long as they're not sharp 'n pointy or too rude)
