The BMW 5 Series might be getting its Neue Klass face turned back into the old one, but now we’re not sure if the M3 will get the same fate or not. The upcoming BMW M3 prototype has been spotted once again, getting ready to go very, very fast. And it doesn’t take more than a very quick look to see that this electric M still has the Neue Klasse visage.
Have we been staring into the camouflaged abyss for too long, or has BMW flared these fenders even more? Whatever is happening, the M3 EV’s presence looks a lot meaner and more aggressive than a look back at prior shots. No matter your feelings on what will be powering this car, you have to admit it’s going to look like an M3 for the ages.
We know for sure that there are some changes since the last time we saw the M3 EV prototype. This is the first time we’ve seen it with production headlights, for example. They have the boomerang LED lamps of the iX3 SUV, though they’re not an exact match. They also have LED main and high beam lights.
At the back, we can see at least a portion of the new M3 EV’s production taillamps. Only a small portion is visible, but that bit shows they’ll be similar to the iX3’s, just like up front. Expect a lot of lamp hiding under that camouflage, and we’ll see more of it soon enough.
Don’t worry – there’ll still be a combustion M3, though an ICE-powered M4 may soon be a thing of the past.
BMW isn’t hiding the car’s massive brakes and M-spec calipers. It also isn’t hiding the interior, at least not very well. The Panoramic iDrive center display is, well, on display. It will pair with a display at the base of the windshield for a highly configurable view ahead.
The German performance car company has still been very evasive about the details of the new BMW M3 EV. We’ve spent time in one of the vehicles BMW created to help develop it, though, and have learned a few things.
BMW M plans to give all electric M models four motors. That’s one on each wheel offering a level of torque vectoring almost impossible to match without them. While the development car made more than 1,300 horsepower and BMW has said its system can handle 1,000 horses without issue, the car will probably have a figure closer to 700.
Currently, BMW’s most powerful gas M3 is the new Competition model. It makes 523 horsepower from its 3.0-liter inline-six. BMW will need to beat that figure for the new EV, but it doesn’t have to crush it unless it really wants to.
What will crush the competition is BMW’s Heart of Joy. That’s the name of the integrated control unit that will handle every part of making the car drive. The Heart of Joy will control steering, braking, acceleration, traction control, and everything else we haven’t even thought of. More importantly, it can do it 10 times faster than BMW’s current system of multiple controllers.
Existing BMWs have 30 to 50 electronic control units. The new cars will have just four.
Our latest spy photos show that the upcoming all-electric M3 will at least look good.
BMW has not said when it will launch the electric M3, nor confirmed when we can expect the standard 3-Series EVs which will be badged i3. Don’t worry petrolheads, there will be a gas M3 as well. More information on that one will come later as well.
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