BMW’s first electric M car is coming in 2027—with one motor per wheel

Late last year, we drove BMW’s new iX3. It is the first car in the electric BMW series to use the newly developed platform, known as the “Neue Klasse”. We’ll see the first all-electric version of the 3 Series later this year, when the i3 sedan debuts. And next year, BMW enthusiasts will finally know what the brand’s M division – which incorporates motorsport into vehicles like few others – can do with EVs.

There are now more powerful variants of the M-tuned EV i4, iX and i7. And every time we drove them, BMW went to the trouble to point out that these weren’t real M cars, not like the M3 or M5. To be honest, they were no better than cheaper, less powerful versions, something that won’t be allowed for next year’s performance EV, which might be called something like the iM3, assuming the naming convention is logic-based.

“The next generation models are set to set a new benchmark in the high-performance vehicle segment,” says Francis van Meel, Managing Director of BMW M GmbH. “With the latest generation of Neue Klasse technology, we are taking the BMW M driving experience to a new level and will inspire our customers with outstanding, racetrack-ready driving dynamics for everyday use.”

Technology is the key to distinguishing the M EV from its quieter siblings. The Neue Klasse platform is in line with the software-defined vehicle trend, where a handful of powerful computers control a wide range of functions, rather than dozens or hundreds of separate electronic control units in black boxes, each of which does the same thing. One computer handles infotainment, and the other deals with automated driving and active safety systems. A third handles the relatively mundane but no less important task of climate control, as well as the seats and doors and windows.

However, the important one here is called the Heart of Joy, which runs M-specific software, called BMW M Dynamic Performance Control. This offers a much quicker response than the current M model in terms of the car’s electronic dynamic control, which is used to control the four electric motors that will drive the electric M.