A six or eight-cylinder M3 could be possible, but we know that it’ll have a new cylinder firing order and a revised cooling set-up – the latter of which will contribute to a significant reduction in weight, which could come down to as little as 1,500kg. Such a kerb weight on an M3 hasn’t been seen since the early 2000s, on the lightweight M3 CSL coupé with carbon panels.
With no substantial electric assistance, we expect the petrol-powered M3 to be only slightly more potent than the current M3 Competition, which develops 523bhp and 650Nm of torque.
What can we expect from the new all-electric BMW M3?
The pure-electric M3 – likely to be called ‘iM3’ judging from BMW’s recent trademark filing, will have similar dynamic capabilities to the petrol model, according to our source, despite the EV weighing between 400 and 500kg more. To offset the extra weight, the iM3 will get more power. We’ve previously seen a quad-motor version of BMW’s similarly sized i4 M50 EV testing and Weber told Auto Express the system could produce up to 1,341bhp, although such an output would probably be reserved for cars further up the M range, such as the X5 M and XM.
The iM3 will likely get a detuned version of the system, but power distribution between the four motors will be highly adjustable, which should help the iM3 retain the traditional driving experience of the M3. BMW’s M division boss Frank van Meel told Auto Express they ‘won’t need’ a megawatt of power (roughly 1,341bhp) for the iM3, though with more power available we could see more potent versions of the EV arrive later – akin to the petrol model’s hotter CS and CSL variants.
BMW is also looking into simulated gearchange technology like that offered on the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, van Meel added. “If you have just one gear and you have no feedback at all, you don’t know how fast you are going and you cannot look down at the speed,” he said. “You should always know how fast you are going, and that’s missing if you have no acoustic feedback and no haptic feedback. We are looking into different ways of giving you that.”
What will the new BMW M3 look like?
A camouflaged prototype of the new electric M3 was spotted testing with a bodystyle similar to the Neue Klasse sedan concept and indeed the livery on the test car was similar to the i4 quad-motor car our spies caught in 2023.
