An all-electric BMW M3 will be revealed in 2027 following the launch of the new 3 Series in Spring this year, and early signs point towards this being one of the best-driving EVs ever made. News editor Jamie Edkins explains why.
This is your best look yet at the new, all-electric BMW M3, an electric performance saloon which will take on cars like the Tesla Model 3 Performance when it’s revealed next year.
Exact specs are thin on the ground for now, but with four electric motors on board you can expect a crazy amount of power. Plus, judging by how good the new BMW iX3 is to drive, it should also be incredible on racetracks and country roads.
In this article:
New electric BMW M3: what will this car look like?
These camouflaged teaser images are your first look at the new BMW M3, but we’ve used some computer wizardry to peel back the wrap and give you an idea of what it could look like.
You can see elements of the iX3 SUV in the front end, which comes as no surprise as they’re both based on the “Neue Klasse” design language. That’s a posh way to describe BMW’s new styling cues which it’ll be using on all new models going forward.
The 3 Series and M3 won’t have the same vertical kidney grilles as the iX3 – BMW’s designers told me that future BMW saloons will have the wide, flat grille shape, while the slim, vertical kidneys will be reserved for SUVs.
The rear end features flared wheel arches to accommodate the wide wheels you’ll need on a powerful sports saloon, and there’s an aggressive-looking rear diffuser paired with a lip spoiler to finish things off at the rear.
New electric BMW M3: what will make this car special?
A BMW M3 needs to be phenomenal to drive before pretty much anything else, and diehard fans of this car may be skeptical that a heavy electric car can deliver on this philosophy. The new M3 will be packing some clever technology to make sure it puts as big a grin on your face as it should.
It all centres around something called the “Heart of Joy”, which is a bit of a silly name for a very powerful computer which is dedicated to driving dynamics. It can make minute adjustments to the steering and traction control in milliseconds, and this is especially beneficial when working with the M3’s electric motors.
It’ll have four electric motors, one for each wheel, and having such a powerful computer on board will allow precise amounts of power to be sent to each wheel at the right time, making it feel more agile through the bends. Adding to the sense of fun will be simulated gear shifts, a bit like in the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N.
Fancy a spot of hooliganism? Well you’ll be able to completely decouple the front two motors and make the M3 rear-wheel drive. This not only means you can get the tail out on the track, it also saves energy when you’re cruising on the motorway.
The Heart of Joy computer also features in the new BMW iX3, and when I drove that car in late 2025 I was astonished at just how good it feels on a twisty road. It corners like a car half its weight, and this technology in a lower, lighter and more powerful performance saloon is bound to be epic.
New electric BMW M3 motors and batteries: how quick will it be?
It’s hard to say how fast this car will be because BMW hasn’t confirmed any official stats yet, but we can take an educated guess.
Pictured above is the BMW Vision Driving Experience (VDX), and it’s a test mule for the technology which will underpin the next M3. It has four electric motors which make a combined 1,300hp.
The production car is unlikely to have quite this much power because the VDX has been built to test the absolute limits of this electrical system. The new M3 is more likely to have around 1,000hp, and perhaps it could deliver a bit more in short bursts for getting off the line.
That sort of power means 0-60mph could be possible in well under 3.0 seconds, making it more than a match for the Tesla Model S Plaid and Porsche Taycan Turbo GT.
You can expect to see the same 108kWh battery as the BMW iX3, because these cars will use similar parts under the skin. In that SUV it delivers up to 500 miles of range, but the extra pair of motors in the M3 are likely to have an impact. Around 450 miles on a charge seems more realistic.
New BMW M3: it’s not all about electric
No matter how fantastic an electric BMW M3 may be, there will still be an appetite for a six-cylinder petrol version. Well fans of internal combustion can relax, because there will be a petrol version of the next M3.
It’s likely to be based on the current BMW M3, using a highly revised version of that car’s 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged six-cylinder engine. BMW is working hard to make that engine compliant with the latest European emissions laws, and it could also feature a hybrid system to both boost power and clean up the tailpipe emissions.
The current M3 has 510hp and 650Nm of torque, and it’ll do 0-60mph in 3.9 seconds. A hybridised version of this engine could push well past 700hp, and bring that 0-60mph time down into the sub 3.5-second range.
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