BMW’s quest to electrify its lineup has taken many forms in recent years. While the “Neune Klasse” family of EVs will eventually make up the bulk of BMW’s EV-related sales in the near future the company is also willing to push the envelope when it comes to outright performance. We haven’t heard too much from M on what it has planned for its electrified efforts beyond rumors and reports of varying validity.
That’s now changing though with the company confirming that all M models will be powered by four electric motors with the confirmation coming via a brief teaser video that the company released on social media earlier today which also serves as a strong message to rivals from Lucid and Tesla.
Teaser video points to new future for M
This first video is part of a broader series that the company will be doing with this inaugural video laying out the groundwork and some of the challenges that BMW M engineers face as they attempt to make the transition into the world of EV performance. That includes a new control unit – a computer that integrates the functions of the engine computer, steering computer, suspension computer, traction control, and more. Franciscus van Meel, BMW M CEO, says “We’re really good at doing that. But things are getting more and more complicated.” This digital brain will be the hub of the entire setup and it promises to be a key part in delivering high levels of performance.
The way forward, he says, is not more control units but one that does more. Van Meel says that it “gives you a very special feeling.” It’s so quick and precise that “it actually brings you to another level.” That level M is working toward is one where EVs feel like they’re ICE-powered.
Quad-motors will beef up performance, but ICE models like M3 will stick around
With all of the performance that EVs bring to the table when buyers pick a dual or even tri-motor setup, the addition of a fourth motor like BMW is proposing will undoubtedly raise the bar even higher when it comes to raw speed. Of course, raising the bar of performance in this fashion requires testing and the company has prepared for that with a quad-motor equipped i4 M50 making its appearance on the track a third of the way into the video. It gets a cool wrap too but the figurative meat and potatoes are lurking underneath the bold skin.
The company was also surprisingly candid about some of the early pitfalls in the testing process (a rarity in a teaser campaign) with the video actually featuring a breakdown the prototype suffered which required it to be revived by a BMW X7 before being hauled back into the pits to iron out what went wrong. A production model is coming, but not until 2027 or 2028 which is a rather long wait.
In the meantime, BMW will continue to rely on ICE engines for the immediate future with the twin-turbo inline-six still being a core component of the BMW M3 and its coupe counterpart the M4. The next-generation M3 model dubbed the “G84” is also expected to get ICE-powerplants but it will also serve as a bridge into the future EV models so look for that one to put a stronger focus on hybrid technology to help create that middle ground for buyers. It will also be interesting to see how M3 buyers will respond to the changes and whether they are willing to give M’s EV experiment a chance.
Carl Malek has been an automotive journalist for over 10 years. First starting out as a freelance photographer before making the transition to writing during college, his work has appeared on numerous automotive forums as well as websites such as Autoshopper.com.
Carl is also a big fan of British vehicles with the bulk of his devotion going to the Morgan Motor Company as well as offerings from Lotus, MG, and Caterham. When he is not writing about automobiles, Carl enjoys spending time with his family and friends in the Metro Detroit area, as well as spending time with his adorable pets.