- BMW has released a new episode in its series about the upcoming electric M3 equivalent sedan.
- This video focuses on how BMW is making the car feel controllable, fun and rewarding for keen drivers.
- It also reveals what the first electric M car will sound like, and it sounds like a synthesized straight-six.
Automakers with a history of making good sporty cars are finding it difficult to replicate the same visceral feeling that kept buyers coming back to their cars for decades. Honda is trying to make an electric Type R, but it also doesn’t want to dilute its iconic performance designation by slapping it onto the back of an EV that’s not fun enough to deserve it. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N proved that this can be done, but it’s arguably tougher to do if you work from a fixed set of expectations.
BMW faced a very similar dilemma when it came to making the first fully electric M car. The performance EVs it’s put out so far are nice to drive and really fast, but they are too heavy and cumbersome around a twisty road, which is where a BMW should come alive, but none of its current EVs do. The only one that could was the original Mini Cooper SE, which was an absolute hoot around a winding road, but now it’s been replaced with a much more grown-up (and less fun) new model.
The manufacturer is now hard at work creating the first bespoke M offering, and we can follow along the development cycle through a series of mini-documentaries.
The latest installment in the series focuses on the problem of controlling the vehicle when close to or at the limit. It is in this instance that a BMW M car is truly fun, because it allows you to be a bit naughty behind the wheel, but without feeling that you’re about to lose control.
Throwing the car into corners to enjoy the plentiful grip and then powering out with the tail hanging out is an M car staple, and BMW wants its electric M model to feel the same in this regard. The latest video shows BMW testing a prototype for its upcoming electric M3 equivalent model in Sweden to see how it reacts and what it can do on a low-grip surface.
It’s worth noting that while BMW has put M badges on a few EVs, none of them are dedicated high-performance M models—it’s not made an electric equivalent of its M3, M4 or M5 yet. That seems to be changing soon, however.
The prototype/mule nicknamed “Nadine” has an i4 body but with bulging wheel arches that hide a performance variant of the Neue Klasse platform. We don’t know if this particular car has a quad-motor setup, with a drive unit for each individual wheel, but BMW has confirmed that it plans to offer this in the future M3 EV.
But while seeing Nadine sliding around a frozen lake in Switzerland is all well and good, probably the biggest reveal of the video is what the M3 EV will sound like. If you’ve driven a recent BMW EV, then you are familiar with the futuristic acceleration sound created by Hans Zimmer. However, it seems BMW is ditching Hans in its future M EVs.
The prototype sounds a lot like it’s piping in a synthesized straight-six noise that’s very similar to what current M cars powered by the S58 engine sound like. We don’t know if this is indicative of what the final production version of the car will have, but it’s probably a better fit than keeping the Hans Zimmer sounds.
Between the fake engine noise and the handling, which is being dialed in to feel like the M cars we know and love, BMW has us very excited to experience the electric M3. It probably won’t have the fake gear shifting you get in the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, but the Hyundai shows us what an EV with piped-in engine noises and a propensity for oversteer can be like.
