BMW: next M3 will be fully-electric… and a petrol-powered straight-six

An all-new BMW M3 is set to arrive within the next two years and, lo and behold, it’ll come as both a mean, green (potential quad-motor) EV and a petrol-slurping straight-six.

“We’re going to make it the best M car ever dynamically”, says the boss of BMW’s Neue Klasse division, Dr. Mike Reichelt. “We’re also going to offer it with a new type of six-cylinder engine, because we understand it may be early for some committed M fans to make the switch. But we are convinced the fully-electric M3 is going to hit new heights and reach new target groups, because it’ll behave completely differently.”

As it should, because at the centre of the electric M3 will be BMW’s new Heart of Joy performance control unit - a sort of all-conquering brain chip which processes information up to 10 times faster than previous systems. It’s currently being put through its paces in the wild Vision Driving Experience test rig, which splurts out no less than *13,268lb ft* of torque.

“We want to test the Heart of Joy and see what is possible on the physical side - not just the dynamic effects, but in everyday use. In complex weather conditions, like snow or ice, one advantage is that it’ll help the car move into a corner with the first input of steering. It’s as if the car knows what you want it to do, and that will have a big impact when the weather gets tricky.”

But let’s cut to the chase here: how exactly will a computer help BMW drivers of the future chase old-school frills when they want it?

“When you look at full EVs, the performance is normally far more than enough. It’s no longer about making a car that has the fastest 0-62mph time, but rather a car that offers precise dynamics. That’s what our control unit does; you go into a bend with a certain steering angle and don’t need to make corrections mid-corner.”

Reichelt also confirmed both versions of the M3 will have “the same design and digital features”, despite the contrasting powertrains. That’s pretty consistent with what BMW’s design director, Adrian van Hooydonk, said to us last winter, when he confirmed that most of the Neue Klasse exterior and interior design elements will be uniform across the entire model lineup.

“A lot of manufacturers feel and look like each other, and we believe our strength is in our design”, continued Reichelt. “The original Neue Klasse cars are iconic, but we don’t just want to rely on nostalgia. For every brand, it’s important to further develop the design language, and you can’t do that by just leaning into history. Use your heritage - like the reintroduction of the ‘older’ style kidney grilles - sure, but it needs to be reinterpreted in a completely new way.”

So, the new M3s will look identical, feature the same tech, and if BMW’s recent synthetic sound tests are anything to go by, may even sound alike. Could this be the ‘soft’ transition from ICE to EV that we’ve all been waiting for?