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Photo: Screenshot Youtube | Carspotter Jeroen
BMW has plenty of new models in the making as we speak, and they will go down the Neue Klasse route, just like the latest iX3, the i3 Sedan, which will soon be joined by a station wagon variant, and the fresh X5 that takes a swing at Audi’s new-gen Q7, as well as other premium mid-size crossovers.
The M family cannot escape the Neue Klasse trend, and for the first time ever, the company’s performance division will launch a battery-electric M3. But you already knew that, given that this model has been spied testing on multiple occasions, and has also fallen into the hands of various rendering artists, who have done their best to preview its M Concept Neue Klasse-inspired design as realistically as possible.
One of our best encounters with a realistically rendered BMW M3 Electric dates back to a couple of weeks ago, and if you haven’t seen those digital illustrations, then you should do that by clicking on this link, though preferably after you keep reading this news, viewing the images shared in the gallery, and clicking the play button on the video embedded at the bottom of the page. The footage is a little over four minutes long, and was uploaded on YouTube by Carspotter Jeroen.
The video puts the spotlight on a camouflaged prototype of the all-quiet BMW M3 that was caught undergoing testing at the infamous Nurburgring racetrack in Germany, and driving on the roads surrounding the circuit. And to absolutely no one’s surprise, it was still wrapped in the usual trippy vinyl stickers meant to hide some of its design cues. But as mentioned above, we already know what this model will look like, because it will feature front and rear fascias inspired by the M Concept Neue Klasse, which was unveiled a few months ago.
Photo: Screenshot Youtube | Carspotter Jeroen
Look for a similar (if not identical) grille that blends in with the lighting units. The face has a vizor-like design, and further down, the car will feature an aggressive bumper with a pair of air intakes in the middle separated by a vertical slat. The extra lights on the sides of the bumper will probably carry over from the show car mentioned above, and by the looks of it, the hood will be on the vented side of things, just like the M Concept study.
Compared to the regular BMW i3 Sedan, the battery-electric M3 will also feature wider tracks, fatter wheel arches, and sharper side skirts. The changes will also include exclusive wheels, wrapped in sticky tires for extra traction during fast cornering, backed up by uprated brakes. The car will also sit closer to the ground due to the reworked suspension. Out back, it will feature wide and slim taillights spanning across the width of the trunk lid and bumper, separated in the middle by the corporate logo.
We also expect the reflectors from the concept to make their way to the sides of the rear bumper. Further down, it will feature an aggressive skirt that should double down as a diffuser. A carbon fiber roof panel could be available, thus lowering the model’s center of gravity and inevitably improving its cornering credentials, though that’s just our two cents, and should be taken with the proverbial pinch of salt.
Photo: Screenshot Youtube | Carspotter Jeroen
To absolutely no one’s surprise, the zero-emission BMW M3 will feature the Neue Klasse interior, complete with the quirky-looking tablet-like infotainment system, and the pillar-to-pillar display that stretches at the bottom of the windshield. The steering wheel should be exclusive to this model, and we expect it to sport a pair of bucket seats for the driver and front passenger. The upholstery will also be on the exclusive side of things, just like most of the trim, and you should also look for the usual M touches on the inside.
Details surrounding the powertrain haven’t yet been announced, but reports indicate that it should launch with some 700 ps. That’s 691 bhp and 515 kW. However, some believe that the metric output will be close to 1,000 hp (986 bhp/736 kW), and to be honest, we wouldn’t hold our breath for that. Not at first, anyway, because chances are that the battery-electric BMW M3 family might eventually gain a superior member to sit at the very top of the lineup. By comparison, the AMG C-Class is expected with some 800 ps (789 hp/588 kW) in total.
BMW’s all-quiet M3 will feature a quad-motor assembly, and the 800V tech. It will be known as the Electric M3 or the M3 EV because the M Division wants its customers to know that this is a “real” M3. It should be unveiled sometime in 2027, and by then, we should find out more about it. Meanwhile, you should check it out in action at the Nurburgring racetrack in the video shared below.
