The BMW iM3 Roars In As The Sharpest M-Car Yet Built

The new BMW iM3 is shaping up to be the most potent M3 ever to turn a wheel, and the brand promises it will still drive like a proper M-car. This first electric M3 runs a quad-motor layout that can, in theory, deliver up to 1,341bhp. In practice, BMW is set to dial that back to roughly 650bhp to 750bhp. Even at the lower figure, it would still wear the crown as the strongest M3 yet.

Christian Karg, head of vehicle dynamics for the BMW Group, told Auto Express that raw output is not the point. Precision is what sets an M-car apart, and that is the target here. The quad-motor setup hands each wheel its own drive, allowing true torque-vectoring. That clever distribution of power should help mask the saloon’s weight and keep it feeling light on its feet through a corner.

Engineers are working hard to hold strong performance even as the battery drains, a known headache for fast EVs. Every car is honed at the Nürburgring, and prototypes have been clocked testing from the Arctic Circle to the Nordschleife. The four motors sit two per axle with single-speed gearboxes, fed by a 100kWh-plus battery. Drivers can even decouple the front axle for a rear-driven, tyre-smoking setup when the mood strikes.

The styling takes its cues from the M Neue Klasse Concept shown at Le Mans. Expect bold proportions, crisp lines and muscular wheelarches, topped by the familiar double-bubble roof in a natural-fibre composite. A sharp shark nose, slim new kidney grilles, yellow lighting accents and a sculpted twin-fin ducktail spoiler complete the look. Inside, the cabin keeps things clean, with the Panoramic iDrive display, a red gear selector and a virtual gearbox.

Alongside the electric car, a petrol M3 will continue with a straight-six engine, mild-hybrid assistance and the new BMW M Ignite combustion tech borrowed from the racing programme. A Touring estate is confirmed once again. Both versions are tipped for a 2027 reveal before reaching the road in 2028. BMW reckons the iM3 will be, in Karg’s modest words, “quite amazing.”