The BMW M3 will continue to offer petrol power, but the iconic nameplate will also be applied to an electric sports sedan.
Riding BMW’s new Neue Klasse electric vehicle (EV) architecture, the electric M3 – and its tamer counterpart, potentially wearing the i3 nameplate – features styling previewed by 2023’s Vision Neue Klasse concept.
The electric M3, set to be released in 2027 or 2028, is rumoured to produce more than 746kW (1000hp) from a quad-motor powertrain.
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That’s likely to see it out-punch the next petrol-powered M3, which is set to continue using a twin-turbo inline six-cylinder engine when it also debuts around 2028.
Before these models arrive, the Neue Klasse platform will debut on the 2025 iX3, with the i3 following in 2026.
While the M3 nameplate will live on with petrol power, its M4 counterpart is reportedly dying although BMW will launch an electric-only successor.
With an angular body, flared arches, and tight overhangs, the electric M3 looks the business.
This prototype wears camouflage like that of the example BMW recently teased, though it still doesn’t wear production tail lights.
As previewed on the Vision Neue Klasse concept, BMW’s next-generation mid-sized sedan range will feature a double-kidney grille that’s more wide than it is tall.
That gives this a different and more subtle look up front to the current M3 and M4 with their plunging double-coffin grilles, while the overall design is much more angular than EVs from arch-rival Mercedes-Benz.
BMW has previously said not all of its EVs will feature styling dramatically different from its combustion-powered models, like the iX does and the defunct i3 did.
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BMW Panoramic iDrive
It recently previewed its next-generation cabin design which will feature in upcoming Neue Klasse vehicles, called BMW Panoramic iDrive.
This incorporates four main elements: a pillar-to-pillar screen at the base of the windscreen, an available 3D head-up display, a central display screen, and a multifunction steering wheel.
The steering wheel represents the most significant departure from current BMW models, ditching physical buttons and instead moving to backlit, touch-sensitive haptic controls.
MORE: Everything BMW M3
