2027 BMW M350 Prototype Drive: Almost an M3bmwBMW's M Performance models have always kept a respectful distance from the big-dog M cars, with BMW saving the choicest performance hardware for its flagships. The 2027 M350 xDrive, though, treads perilously close to M3 territory—the 2026 M3, anyway. Check the stats: twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six making 437 horsepower, active rear diff, quad exhaust, and a rear-drive drift mode. That's M car stuff, but in a package that's not beholden to the hard-edged M3 ethos.bmwAn M350 in Comfort mode is like an M3 that smoked a spliff; but hit the M button on the steering wheel, and it's perfectly happy to go chase lap times at your favorite road course. I can vouch for this gas-powered Neue Klasse's crazy bandwidth after driving camouflaged prototypes at BMW's Miramas proving ground and on the surrounding public roads in southern France. This is the 3-series as one car to do it all.It's telling that BMW's presentation focused not on the engine, but on chassis-tuning details aimed at making the car more involving. You might not brag to your friends about highly preloaded anti-roll bar mounts (okay, some of you might), but hardware like that is aimed at sharpening reflexes and increasing feedback. A word that kept coming up is "latency," and BMW engineers are latency assassins, since any delay in the car's reactions can lead to a feeling of discombobulation and ponderousness. Interestingly, it seems that BMW's benchmark for responsiveness isn't an M car or race machine, but its own contemporary EVs. You'll never build a mechanical all-wheel-drive system that can adjust front-to-rear torque balance as quickly as a pair of electric motors, but that's the goal.bmwBesides the M350's slop-killing hardware relative to lesser 3s—extra chassis bracing front and rear, firmer springs, available staggered-fitment summer tires—it's got a quick mind too. All of the car's dynamic systems run through a single computer fed by a 6D motion sensor. The goal was to make the car's constant chassis and powertrain adjustments feel cohesive and seamless rather than a series of discrete moves. For instance, turn into a corner and the system might brake the inside rear wheel, then adjust the differential locking while shuffling torque rearward, all within a fraction of a second. From the driver's standpoint, the car just went where you pointed it, and with a vengeance.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Drift Moment rear-drive mode is not available at the, um, moment. It'll arrive as an over-the-air update in 2027. In the meantime, you can drift just fine in all-wheel-drive mode, given that the system can send most of the power to the rear wheels all on its own. The difference is that adding throttle will cause the front axle to get involved and try to straighten you out, but you can still get into a full power-oversteer spin with the Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) switched off. This revelation came via the Miramas wet handling track, where sprinklers watered the pavement in irregular fashion to give DSC a workout with constantly varying friction levels.bmwBesides the wet handling track, we also lapped a dry course that underscores the difference between a racetrack and a proving ground. Miramas is meant to reveal shortcomings in the suspension, steering, and brakes, but the M350 remained resolutely planted despite the diabolical pavement—think 100-mph sweeper the width of a goat path into a decreasing-radius corner studded with bumps. Good morning! Welcome to France, and stay away from that guardrail two feet off your door handle.While the M350's interior, like its exterior, was camouflaged, BMW didn't hide the new panoramic iDrive, a horizontal screen at the base of the windshield that conveys your instrument cluster information (most notably, speed) in a way that splits the difference between a traditional cluster and a head-up display. It's a little bit off-putting at first, but you quickly get used to gleaning information from the panoramic display, and it just looks cool. It's refreshing to see a screen presented in a way that actually enhances functionality rather than just "here, have more screen."Drift Moment rear-drive mode will be activated via an over-the-air update in 2027, but even in all-wheel-drive mode the M350 xDrive is happy to hang the tail out.BMWAfter the Miramas track high jinks, we got to take a drive on the surrounding roads, which twist through hills and vineyards and are occasionally impeded by a meandering Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead. The M350 dispatched its upper-crust cousin as soon as the suggestion of a straightaway presented itself, and BMW's claimed zero-to-62-mph time of 4.1 seconds is doubtlessly conservative. But more impressive was the fluid grace exhibited on real-world roads. The M350 comes standard with an adaptive suspension, eight-speed ZF transmission, electronic rear differential, and variable sport steering, all of which do their part to make a back-road blast something you'd proactively seek out. The optional staggered summer tires, size 245/35R-20 front and 275/30R-20 rear, certainly help the cause too.bmwAs a former M3 owner, I understand the appeal of the ultimate 3-series. But the penultimate model—whatever's just below the M3—is always tempting in its own right, and never more so than with this new version. The M350 xDrive delivers most of the performance and fun you'd expect from an M3, without being so keyed up all the time. Granted, this was a prototype, but things look promising for the Neue Klasse to return the 3-series to its old status as the one car to do it all.You Might Also LikeGift Guide: Best Ride-On Electric Cars for KidsFuture Cars Worth Waiting For: 2025–2029