The first ever all-electric BMW M3 will be priced “in the same ballpark” as its internal combustion-engined (ICE) twin, despite the fact it will be powered by a quad-motor powertrain producing more than 1000hp (746kW).
For reference, the current rear-wheel drive M3 produces 353kW of power and 550Nm of torque from its twin-turbocharged ‘S58’ 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder petrol engine, and is priced from $169,100 before on-road costs.
Meanwhile, the all-wheel drive Competition xDrive sedan makes 390kW/650Nm and is priced from $186,900 plus on-roads, and the range-topping M3 CS Touring produces 405kW/650Nm and is priced from $253,900 plus ORCs.
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“The good news is that from a pricing perspective, they are in the same ballpark,” BMW M’s sales chief Sylvia Neubauer told Autocar.
The first BMW M3 electric vehicle (EV) and the next-generation ICE-powered M3 will look almost identical when they’re launched in 2027, but they’ll be very different sedans underneath.
While its exact name is yet to be confirmed but could end up being ‘iM3’, the inaugural M3 EV will be based on the recently revealed BMW i3 electric sedan, employing the German automaker’s latest Neue Klasse architecture.
Meantime, the new M3 ICE will continue to be based on the CLAR platform of the current 3 Series, but will wear a new four-door body consistent with BMW’s Neue Klasse design language.
Ms Neubauer told Autocar that BMW M’s first EV, which has been spied numerous times undergoing development testing, will “stay true to BMW M DNA”, and that the new “twins” will offer M3 buyers the choice between electric and traditional petrol power.
“It’s not only about acceleration and power, it’s about drivability, manoeuvrability and that level of trust and connection between the driver, car and road. With a high-performance BEV, you need to be able to trust it every millisecond, and the car is so convincing,” she said.
“Obviously we will not convince 100 per cent out of the petrol-head target group to buy an all-electric BMW M3. But out of 100 people that try it, we will be able to convince some. And for everybody else, we will still provide combustion engines.
“There will be functional differences that lead to a different design in some areas of the car, but when you look at them, you will see that they are twins.”
Ms Neubauer said BMW M was planning a series of try-before-you-buy events to promote its first electric M3, but wouldn’t specifically target different customers for either the M3 EV or M3 ICE.
“Mainly it’s a high-performance target group. But within that high-performance target groups, you have those with more progressive all-electric mindsets and the ones that are diehard petrol-heads who will stay in an ICE vehicle forever,” she told Autocar.
“But it’s always a BMW M. When we talk about the BMW M3, it’s the M3 no matter the drivetrain. The driving experience must be true, and you decide if you want EV or ICE.”
Spy shots of the electric M3 shared on the Bimmerpost forum in March show an aggressive prow with extended kidney grille housings incorporating the headlights, as well as flared guards and a prominent bonnet scoop.
The composite bodywork design matches earlier disguised prototypes shown by BMW, which previously confirmed a quad-motor setup sending an estimated 1000-plus horsepower to all four wheels.
Like the i3 and BMW’s first Neue Klasse model, the new iX3 electric SUV, the M3 EV is set to employ a big battery pack that’s expected to exceed 100kWh, along with BMW’s latest ‘Heart of Joy’ central computing system, and its next-generation iDrive interface with artificial intelligence.
The standard i3 50 xDrive, revealed last month, uses a dual-motor powertrain producing 345kW and 645Nm, along with an 800V electrical architecture enabling DC fast-charging speeds of up to 400kW.
Its claimed WLTP driving range of up to 900km will exceed the 750km range of the Tesla Model 3 Long Range, making it the longest-range EV currently available.