It’s becoming increasingly apparent that the death of the combustion engine has been greatly exaggerated. Many automakers rushed to set a termination date for ICE, only to delay their lofty electrification goals. BMW never announced when the gas engine would expire; instead, it stuck to its “Power of Choice” slogan. In the performance niche, it still caters to enthusiasts looking for traditional powertrains. Thankfully, that won’t change.
BMW is working on a Neue Klasse-based fully electric M3, codenamed “ZA0,” but the traditional model is here to stay. Speaking with the Australian magazine CarExpert, the Vice President of Customer, Brand, and Sales at the M division pledged the gasoline model is not going anywhere. Sylvia Neubauer promised the M3 will keep its six-cylinder engine for as long as legally possible:
“You can trust us, we are prepared for the future. I can also reassure you the all-electric M3 that I just mentioned, will have a brother with a combustion engine. They will exist in parallel. So no matter what the customer demand is, we will be able to cater for all needs in any market, as long as regulation allows.”
The M3 EV is still a few years away, and by the time it hits the market, the current G80 M3 gasoline model will probably have been retired. We hear that BMW will end production of the sixth-generation M3 in early 2027. Later the same year, the electric sports sedan is likely to hit the assembly line.
BMW won’t start series production of the next M3 with a gas engine until mid-2028. It already has a codename, “G84,” but what’s underneath the hood remains a mystery. The twin-turbo, 3.0-liter “S58” is likely staying, but we’re not ruling out the standard “B58” either. Another downgrade could come from the lack of a manual gearbox since we believe BMW will sell the new M3 only with an automatic. The rear-wheel-drive layout could disappear as well, leaving only xDrive. If that happens, we’re hoping the dedicated 2WD mode will stay.
While the bigger M5 is now a plug-in hybrid, BMW is unlikely to electrify the next M3 to such a high extent. The engineers at M are working on electrification, presumably a mild-hybrid 48V setup. As for power, rumor has it the engineers from M are targeting over 525 hp. The current M3 makes 473 hp in the base model, followed by the rear-wheel-drive Competition at 503 hp and the xDrive Competition at 523 hp. The M3 CS limited edition had 543 hp on tap.
If the new M3 goes on sale in the second half of 2028, it will remain in production well into the 2030s. It will undoubtedly be one of the last M cars with a gas engine, if not the final one.
Source: CarExpert
