If you’re an avid follower, you are aware we strive to find out everything happening within the gates of BMW’s HQ in Munich. However, we’ll admit images of a mysterious coupe completely surprised us when they emerged back in June. The two-door prototype with Neue Klasse styling cues had an unusually high ride height, which got as thinking of an EV with chunky batteries underneath.
At that point, we refrained from speculating that the Bavarians were cooking up a supercar. We made the right call because that strange-looking vehicle will sadly not live to see the light of production day. In an extended interview with Autocar, BMW M boss Frank van Meel spoke about the oddly interesting sports coupe. He confirmed our hunch about the prototype having a quad-motor setup with in-wheel motors at all four corners.
The mayor of M Town went on to say the puzzling coupe is only a test mule for this exciting technology. If you recall, BMW started tests in 2022 by modifying an i4 M50 for quad-motor duty. According to van Meel, the four motors push out a combined output of “hundreds of kilowatts.” Previously, M’s head honcho told us the new setup can deliver up to 1 megawatt or a massive 1,341 horsepower.
The British magazine speculates BMW will organize an official unveiling of the test mule as a rakish concept car. However, the aggressively angular coupe will not be sold to customers since it’ll remain a technology showcase. It’s worth noting the in-wheel motor technology is apparently not compatible with the most potent electric motors BMW is working on.
The first true M without a combustion engine will be the “ZA0” M3. We’re hearing it’ll pack roughly 700 hp. Logic tells us it’ll have conventional electric motors akin to an i5 M60 or an i7 M70. However, the much-hyped Neue Klasse underpinnings might bring major improvements. The electric M3 won’t be launched sooner than 2027 or 2028 since the regular i3 sedan will hit the assembly line in 2026.
BMW will also reportedly launch high-performance versions of the iX3 crossover and the unannounced i3 Touring and iX4. All could come before the end of the decade, so the future sounds exciting. If you don’t feel this way, there will be a next-generation gasoline M3 (“G84”) with an inline-six engine. It’s supposedly coming in 2028 but without a six-speed manual gearbox. We’re hearing it’ll be an xDrive-only affair.
Source: Autocar
