We knew this would be coming eventually, but we now have clear confirmation that BMW is working on its first-ever M electric vehicle (EV).
Precise details are thin on the ground at this stage, but an Instagram post from the German company featured multiple images of a test mule in snowy conditions testing up in Sweden at the favoured winter site of car manufacturers, Arjeplog - and a couple of tantalising videos where we can get some brief glimpses of the car in action.
Hold on - I thought there already were high-performance BMW EVs with M badges
There have, but this comes down to the somewhat fuzzy distinction between BMW M and BMW M Performance. The company views cars from the latter sub-brand as being a step down from ‘full’ M cars, so while we’ve already had some quick EVs - namely, the i4 M50, the i5 M60, the iX M60 and the i7 M70 - none of them are classified as proper Ms. This one, though... this one promises to be the start of an all-new M era.
OK, what can we infer from it so far?
Not a huge amount from a technical perspective in terms of details such as its power, its torque, its speed and its battery size or range, but we do get some clues as to where it will be positioned in the overall product portfolio from BMW, as well as getting some insight into the control mechanisms courtesy of Carsten Wolf, the person responsible for integration vehicle characteristics for the BMW M High-Performance EV programme.
For starters, the lightly disguised bodywork mule BMW has chosen for the job is clearly an i4 shell, but from the pictures on the Instagram post it’s clear to see that the development car has a much wider track, and beefier wheels and tyres than the existing 544hp M50 model. That, in turn, leads to flared-out wheel arches, in true M fashion, and it also appears to be wearing a proper open set of kidney grilles, probably from the M4 Coupe, rather than the blanked-off panels that you’d find on any model of the i4, the M50 included.
All that evidence would seem to indicate that, in glib terminology, this machine is going to be an electric BMW M3, effectively, or more accurately an M4 if it launches as a two-door coupe. So, would it be called BMW iM4? Conjecture at this stage, but time will tell.
There’s then a very brief clip at the end of the Instagram reel of content which shows the test car power-sliding on ice, making a noise rather like a TIE Fighter crossed with a pod racer as it goes, so clearly someone within BMW M is a massive Star Wars fan.
This sounds promising. Any more information?
Yes. The accompanying text with the post invites us to “say hello to Nadine”, which is the name of the BMW M EV prototype seen up in the snowy landscapes. It further adds that the “BMW M3 is an icon for us at BMW M” and that it is “the benchmark we measure ourselves against”. That reinforces the idea of the newcomer being an iM4 or similar, then.
Nadine, though, probably doesn’t relate so much to the car itself, but rather the control mechanisms within. The Instagram post further states: “Nadine takes our engineering expertise into new territory. With a single, intelligent control unit managing all aspects of performance, every system works in perfect harmony. The result? A level of precision and responsiveness that feels completely natural, yet unlike anything before.”
BMW says this isn’t just about electric performance - as in, simply making a ridiculously fast but probably very heavy EV that’s great in a straight line but nothing special around the corners - but more about “pushing boundaries, learning and shaping the future of BMW M”. As in, the high-performance arm of the company cannot continue with hulking great V8 and straight-six petrol engines for too much longer... anyway, it then signs the post off with #BMWM, #MElectrified, #BMWMPrototype and #UltimateDrivingMachine tags. So M is definitely going all-electric, with the path to that future clearly already started upon with the part-electric, plug-in hybrid BMW M5 and XM.
You mentioned Carsten Wolf earlier - does he offer any more insight?
Not if you want him to give the game away when it comes to the stats of the BMW M EV, but he does explain the point of the single control unit and Nadine when he says in a brief video: “The usual approach in automotive development, which has been established over decades, is that there is a separate control unit for each discipline.
“There’s one engine control unit, a control unit for the brakes, a control unit for the steering and one for the dynamic stability control. These devices then have to communicate with one another over a relatively slow connection. They have conflicting goals and may work against each other, to some extent.”
Obviously, ‘Nadine’ is designed to circumvent this lag in electronic comms and let the M EV be as agile, enjoyable-to-drive and capable as it can possibly be.
Do we have any idea when it will be going on sale?
Not at this stage, but if there’s already a prototype going through cold-weather testing, you can bet the development phase is a good chunk of the way along already. We’d therefore be surprised if we didn’t see a production-ready version, or at the very least a near-production concept model, of the BMW M High-Performance EV before 2025 is out. The full video from BMW M can be found below.