Electric BMW M Car: Arrival Date Announced

Pioneering with the M3

Fully electric BMW pride-and-joys could soon take over the roads, as signalled by Dirk Hacker, Chief Developer of M division, who disclosed to the English Auto Express website. Though there were no specifics regarding which models would get the ‘M’ upgrade, chances are they will be constructed using their upcoming Neue Klasse structure, rather than the prevailing setups. This implies the first ones will hit the streets around the latter part of this decade, or possibly in 2027.

“When it comes to our M high-performance electric cars,” remarked Hacker, “you should expect to see the same M characteristics that we’ve been delivering in our vehicles for decades. We want to keep the same feeling as you get from the M2 and M3 CS, but also be able to provide a pure electric experience.”

That’s what we want to focus on,” he said.He goes on to explain that electric vehicles will all have impressive acceleration figures, even in non-performance models, so the M brand is now shifting its focus to how their models handle and feel. “These days, we may not be the quickest from 0-62 mph, but the way the car corners, the refinement, the emotion of upshifting and downshifting, the sound – the entire package – should be the reason to buy such a car. That’s what we want to concentrate on,” he said.

Recently, shutterbugs have snapped a four-motor BMW prototype in the snow. It is likely that this is to experiment with a novel active differential system which has the capacity to toggle between full and part-drive. Previously, we became aware of a patent for this arrangement, implying that only one motor could be used to stimulate two tires, thus giving an increase in fuel efficiency if performance isn’t a necessity.

“It’s a crazy system,” Hacker remarks, “and its possibilities could even expand to hybrid models. With electric cars, there is some playground – we think we can handle it well in the future… but we have some ideas we might use in petrol cars before we will use them for our first electric project.” This could result in significantly improved efficiency when driving around town or in stop-and-go traffic.

Speculations are still abound about what this could mean for future M models. Though, the most concerning notion is that certain electric BMW models like the i4 M50 can already bring out 536 hp and 586 lb-ft of torque thanks to two motors. A hypothetical quad-motor electricity-powered M version could output roughly 800-1000 hp which would put it in contention with Tesla’s Model S Plaid and Porsche’s Taycan Turbo. The shocker comes from the fact that the current prototype showcases as much as 1,340 hp!

Regardless of how creative M is, it appears unlikely they can compete for the electric Nurburgring lap record. This is because when the mighty Rimac Nevera attempts in the near future, it will probably leave all other contenders in its dust.