The nameplate stays. No “i”. Just M3.
For a while there was speculation, quiet rumors about how BMW would distinguish its first electric performance sedan from the combustion beasts of the past. Would it get the ‘i’ treatment? Probably. That’s the logic applied to the rest of the lineup, from the 3-series up.
Then BMW M boss Frank van Meel stepped out at Goodwood and killed the mystery. He told Auto Express straight out: it’s the M3. End of story.
By refusing to separate the badge, BMW is making a statement. They don’t want a family branch off into the shadows. They want this thing standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the next-gen gas M3. Equals.
Think about it. Most automakers treat electric and gas like different species, giving them distinct identities to avoid cannibalizing sales. BMW is choosing a different path. The EV isn’t a sidekick; it’s the successor.
The powertrain tech behind it is staggering. BMW has developed a four-motor architecture that, on paper, can output nearly 1,341 hp (1,000 kW). Let that sink in. Of course, production cars rarely hit the theoretical maximums. They’ll likely cap it around 700 hp for the base model, which still crushes every M3 that came before it. But the ceiling? It’s absurdly high.
More Than Just Numbers
Is it just about horsepower?
Christian Karg, who handles vehicle dynamics, thinks otherwise. He said it isn’t about the horsepower, that’s just part of the game. What matters is preciseness.
That’s the M soul. Not raw thrust. Control.
You can see where they are heading. The styling was previewed by the M Concept Neue Klasse. It showed up at Le Mans last June, then came back to haunt Goodwood this month.
It looks nothing like the safe i3 sedan you’ll see on sale this fall, even though it’s built on a similar foundation.
The concept car is chiseled, mean. Wider fenders. A hood vent that we’ve seen on M3 spy shots. Yellow daytime running lights—a potential new trademark for the sub-brand. And a split rear spoiler that screams performance.
One Badge, Two Machines
Here’s the kicker for the purists. The gasoline M3 is still coming.
It’ll ride on the updated CLAR platform. It’ll use a mild-hybrid inline-six. But it will look almost identical to the EV. Same face. Same lines.
BMW is betting that the M identity survives the switch in power source. They want the gas and electric cars to be indistinguishable from a glance away, letting the driving experience, not the badge, be the differentiator.
The ICE version needs that distinction internally, but externally, the brand wants unity. A unified front against the rest of the performance world.
We’ll have to wait for production details. The show car is toned up, obviously. Production trim always dulls the edges.
But the message is clear.
Electric or not. Gasoline or not. It’s an M3.
Which one would you drive?
