- Electric M3 keeps iconic name, M boss Frank van Meel revealed.
- It could have been called iM3 if it followed BMW’s current EV logic.
- Quad-motor M3 EV will sell alongside visually similar inline-six sedan.
BMW has finally settled one of the biggest questions surrounding its upcoming electric performance sedan. Contrary to some speculation, the brand’s first battery-powered M3 won’t wear an iM3 badge. Instead, it’ll simply be called M3.
The decision was confirmed by BMW M boss Frank van Meel during the Goodwood Festival of Speed, according to Auto Express. By keeping the legendary nameplate, BMW is signaling that its electric performance sedan isn’t being positioned as a separate branch of the family. Instead, it’ll sit alongside the next-generation combustion-powered M3 as an equal successor to the badge’s long history.
Related: BMW’s New M350 Wears i3 Looks Over A Straight-Six That Could Clear 400 HP
EVs often arrive with distinct names to help separate them from their combustion counterparts. And if the electric M3 adopted the naming logic applied to electric versions of the non-M 3-series, 5-series and countless other BMWs, it could have been called iM3.
BMW, however, appears confident that what defines an M3 goes beyond its power source. The electric model is expected to be the most powerful M3 ever produced. BMW’s new four-motor drivetrain architecture can in theory support outputs approaching 1,341 hp (1,360 PS / 1 MW), though production versions are expected to generate considerably less. But even a modest output like 700 hp (710 PS / 522 kW) for the base car would see it still comfortably eclipse every previous M3.
Not Just About The Power
The M engineers appear focused on more than headline figures, anyway. Christian Karg, head of vehicle dynamics for BMW Group, told Auto Express that “It’s not about the horsepower. That’s a part of the game, but the preciseness of M cars, that’s what’s unique.”
The upcoming sedan’s styling has already been previewed by the dramatic M Concept Neue Klasse (see gallery above), that debuted at Le Mans in June, and was wheeled out again this month for an appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Yellow DRLs An M Telltale?
The concept builds on the chiselled look of the stock i3 sedan revealed last year and on sale this fall. It’s lower than the i3, has much wider fenders, a hood vent that has also been spied on M3 prototypes (see below), yellow DRLs that could become an M hallmark, and a split rear trunk-lid spoiler and huge diffuser.
While production details will inevitably be toned down, the show car offers a strong indication of where BMW M3 design is heading, for both the electric and combustion cars. Because the good news for traditionalists is that a new gasoline-slurping M3 powered by a mild-hybrid six-cylinder engine is also in development. Though the ICE car will use an updated CLAR platform and the EV rides on BMW’s Neue Klasse architecture, they will look almost identical.