Namvang, Korea - Hyundai has thrown down the gauntlet to the European autocracy - again. Last time it head-hunted top Audi designer Peter Schreyer, and we don't have to tell you what that did for Kia (and now Hyundai) styling.
This time it has lured away the top engineer at BMW's M skunk works, Albert Biermann, who'll become the Hyundai group's head of vehicle test and performance development, on 1 April 2015.
He'll be based at the company's R&D centre in Namvang and his brief will be 'the development of new high performance models for Hyundai and Kia'.
Brace yourself for some seriously badass rear-wheel drive Korean cars.
He'll also oversee engineering projects aimed at achieving German standards of ride and handling, safety and NVH (noise, vibration and harshness), as well as help carry over the lessons learned from Hyundai's World Rally Championship experience to its road cars.
WHO IS HE?
Biermann, 57, joined BMW in 1983 and has more than 30 years' experience in the development of performance cars, particularly in the M division where he was promoted to vice-president for engineering in 2008.
"I've watched closely as Hyundai has taken on its competitors and quickly established a strong customer base in Europe. 2015 will be an important year for the company with the start of its second season in WRC and the launch of a number of all-new models.
"I look forward to the challenge."
And just in case you were in any doubt as to how serious Hyundai was about its performance aspirations, it has recently joined the exclusive ranks of car companies that maintain a full-time test centre at the Nurburgring.