Source: BMWSource: BMWEVs with enthusiast cred are coming with a new party trick, and BMW is going to be joining the party with its upcoming M3 EV.Kicked off by the rowdy Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, automakers are using the power of programming to let all-electric vehicles emulate their gas-powered counterparts by way of simulated gears and synthetic soundtracks. BMW's M3 EV might take that one degree further.Source: BMWSource: BMWAdvertisementAdvertisementBased on the upcoming Neue Klasse 3-Series sedan, the upcoming BMW M3 EV is undoubtedly going to be a fast thing even if there's no hybridization. But that won't deter the car from being a stonking good time, as BMW is going to throw a whole bunch of tech goodies at it to make it engaging.With the M3 EV on the horizon, the question remains: What will make it feel like an M3 in spite of its four electric motors? Well, BMW has tricks up its sleeve.Source: BMWSource: BMWMotor Trend spoke with BMW's head of M Frank van Meel, who said there will be "different stages" in the M3 EV's tuning, designed to provide something akin to the power interruption and feedback one gets with actual gears. Van Meel went on to say, "If you copy a gearbox into an electric car, you also copy all the disadvantages [...] What you want is to have that feeling in different 'stages' while you drive."AdvertisementAdvertisementSounds like a bunch of fluff, and van Meel didn't explain anything further when talking to MT. Aside from seeing paddle shifters on the Neue Klasse concept, there's not much else to decipher.Source: BMWSource: BMWVan Meel went on to reveal more:"Every M car has its own sound, and if you drive each and every one of those, it feels like it belongs to the car, and you feel at home [...] That's the biggest challenge for sound: to make it feel natural, engaging, emotional, like it belongs to the car."Meanwhile, Oliver Heilmer (BMW M's Head of Design) said they are ditching the massive grilles of the current M3 and M4 in the design motif going forward: "For us, it was a change in mindset where we said, from a design-language perspective, we are heading toward a world where we need to reduce again. We need to focus on what's necessary."With the Neue Klasse M3 EV's launch on the horizon, it's only a matter of time before we know more about the way it looks in production form as well as what the aforementioned ambiguous powertrain details mean. Stay tuned.AdvertisementAdvertisementBecome an AutoGuide insider. Get the latest from the automotive world first by subscribing to our newsletterhere.
