BMW just ripped the mask off of the new BMW M3 and M4 performance sedan and coupe. While those come with up to 503 horsepower and the option of a manual transmission, BMW’s performance M division is already cooking up its first-ever all-electric model, and it should be something completely new.
So far, BMW has only showed off its future electric sedan as a concept car with the nomenclature to match the previous BMW i3 electric and hybrid hatchback and the BMW i8 sports car and roadster—the BMW i4. And it’s only shown it as a “regular” pedestrian car, not your hotted-up M version. But that’s coming soon, according to the CEO of BMW’s M division, Markus Flash.
From Car Advice:
BMW has commenced work on its first pure-electric car from the M performance division, but the M3 and M4 are safe for now.
That’s the message from the CEO of BMW M, Markus Flasch, speaking to Australian media ahead of the reveal of the new M3 sedan and M4 coupe.
The first M-fettled product from BMW’s expanding EV range will be a version of the i4, first previewed as a concept in March 2020.
Late last year it was reported that BMW was planning a 530-horsepower version of the upcoming i4 which would target the traditional M3 sedan’s level of performance. At the time, BMW claimed some version of the production car would be capable of 0 to 62 mph in about four seconds, hit a top speed of 120 mph and have a range of 373 miles.
BMW has also previously worked on an all-electric BMW 5 Series test model with three motors making up to 710 horsepower and 848 lb-ft, but I’d expect the tech on that car to go through a lot of changes before it filters out to the new i4.
And of course, this doesn’t mean BMW is going to abandon combustion-power altogether. Don’t be ridiculous. The company just put a manual back on the M3, we should give them some respect even if the face of the car is a tad hard to look at. Regardless, your more traditional-powered M car isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, but it may get a boost, again from BMW’s Flasch speaking to Car Advice:
“Next year we will launch the first battery-electric M car in the performance segment, based on the i4, as something to confirm,” Flasch revealed. “Then we’re working on hybrid electrified performance and high-performance cars, but it is too early to disclose which ones it is going to be.”
I bet this is an exciting opportunity for the M division. Well, when I say it gets to do something completely new, I mean it probably won’t just be an electric version of a car we already drive around, like the M3, M4, or the M5. This also means, perhaps, the styling is still up in the air, and BMW can come in and give us a car that’s easier to be seen in than the new M3.
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