The next-generation BMW M3 that will be arriving around 2027 will be fully battery-electric, and it will offer performance and handling “far above” that of any M3 that came before it, said BMW development boss Frank Weber.
The next-gen M3 will be based on the brand’s recently unveiled Neue Klasse (NK) platform and therefore use the “Heart of Joy” (HoJ) control unit that has been specifically designed to provide a distinctly sporty driving profile for BMW’s high-performance electric vehicles (EV), writes Autocar UK.
Fortunately, Weber said “there will be a coexistence” with the current M3 until around 2030 to ease the transition from fossil fuels to electrons, with the famous S58 six-cylinder engine used by today’s sports sedan scheduled to remain in production until at least 2030.
The ultimate driving machine
Still around four years away from its public debut, which will take place shortly after the arrival of the next-generation electric 3 Series, there is little available information about the new battery-powered M3.
Weber has reassured fans of the legendary four-door that it will remain the “ultimate driving machine” thanks to the new HoJ control unit, a successor to the “Hand of God” controller that debuted in the i8, which is the culmination of BMW’s entire history of developing these modules.
“This is a controller that has taken the last 20 or 30 years of our experience into a control unit,” said Weber.
“Everything that is driving-performance related, chassis-control related, propulsion [and] powertrain related is now in one integrated control unit.”
HoJ was developed to support electric drivetrains with up to four motors and is capable of delivering variable amounts of power to each wheel as required, with an output ceiling of up to 1,000kW.
BMW M3 quad-motor electric prototype. Source: Autocar
One of the main challenges, however, will be to minimise mass – something that EVs are notorious for due to their weighty batteries, and engineers have struggled with since the very beginning.
“We just need to keep investing in lightweight technology. We already do a lot of carbon,” BMW sales boss Pieter Nota told Autocar.
“But electric cars do have some advantages. You can take some of the sound insulation out, for instance, and having the weight of the battery so low is interesting for engineers.”
If BMW manages to strike the balance just right, the electric M3 will give the driver better, faster, and easier control over power delivery than they ever had with a combustion engine, while retaining the dynamic behaviour these iconic sedans have become known for.
Keyword: The next BMW M3 will be electric – and better than any that came before it