The M3 is about to get the multi-energy treatment that BMW has been rolling out across its lineup. A combustion M3 is still coming, but ahead of it BMW pulled the wraps off the M Concept Neue Klasse, and this is the electric one in everything but name. Think of it as a near-production preview of the upcoming i3M, which is the badge it’s rumored to wear.

The concept broke cover at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where BMW officially called it a “preview of the new design language for high-performance automobiles from BMW M GmbH” and said it “sends a clear signal for the brand’s all-electric future.”

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BMW can dress up the language however it likes. The fact is, this thing looks like an i3 sedan that spent a winter in the gym, and parking it next to the E30 M3 for photos settles any question about what it stands in for, even if it’s bound to wear an i-badge that some purists will never read as a real M3. The shape carries over from last year’s Vision Driving Experience concept, cleaned up and pushed closer to something you could actually buy.

A Track-Ready Take On The i3 Sedan

The greenhouse and LEDs recall the i3 sedan, but everything else has changed. The M treatment adds custom front and rear bumpers with large openings inspired by high-speed multihull sailing boats, cube-shaped LEDs called “track lights,” much wider front and rear fenders, and a pronounced ducktail spoiler.

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The bodywork wears a Monza Red metallic shade, with the dark-finished splitter, side skirts, diffuser, hood scoop, and roof made of natural fiber. The M Yellow Lights pull straight from racing, and the mirrors are aerodynamically optimized. The concept rides on center-lock wheels with negative camber, and the M-specific chassis brings wider tracks and a lowered stance.

Inside: Four Buckets And A Roll Cage

The cabin carries over the Neue Klasse hardware and design from the i3, including the infotainment and the BMW Panoramic iDrive screen at the base of the windshield. Everything else marks this out as a performance sedan.

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There are four independent bucket seats trimmed in Merino leather, with five-point belts and structural elements made of natural fiber. A roll cage wrapped in Nubuck leather matches the steering wheel and door cards. The dashboard is trimmed in a black knit material with backlighting, and the steering wheel and center console break from the i3 with custom controls and red accents.

Quad Motors And 800 Volts

Under the skin, we find the BMW M eDrive quad-motor system. It builds on the Neue Klasse’s Gen6 foundation but was specifically developed for electric M models. BMW hasn’t quoted a combined output, though sources put the electric M3 anywhere between 700 and 1,000 hp (710-1,014 PS). The 2025 concept reportedly generated 13,269 lb-ft (17,990 Nm) of torque.

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Power is managed by the BMW M Dynamic Performance Control System, which is part of the Heart of Joy superbrains. The company promises a “new interpretation of dynamics, agility, and precision” thanks to the wheel-specific control of power and brakes.

The 800-volt architecture pairs with a battery pack rated at more than 100 kWh. It uses an M-specific version of the sixth-gen cylindrical cells built to handle higher outputs while supporting fast charging and longer range. The battery housing is structurally integrated with the axles for added rigidity.

Franciscus van Meel, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW M GmbH, said: “Even in the new all-electric era, we continue the M-typical tradition of transferring both technological innovations and defining design features directly from motorsport into series production”.

More: A 1,000 HP Electric M3 And A 552 HP Gas M3 Will Have The Same Price Tag

BMW hasn’t set a date for the debut of the electric M3 (or iM3), but 2027 looks like the likely window. Reports also point to a mild-hybrid six-cylinder successor to the gas M3, dressed in Neue Klasse styling and tech, that would sell alongside the EV.

Update: BMW has officially teased the new model set to debut on Friday, and it appears to be a closer-to-production concept for the four-door M version of the electric i3. Original story follows below.

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It’s only been just over a couple of months since BMW pulled the wraps off the all-electric i3, and the company is already inching toward revealing the M version. The long-awaited performance model could break cover at this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, or at least be teased there by a motorsport-flavored concept.

Photos from the Le Mans paddock this week show BMW has built a dedicated fanzone at the circuit, and tucked inside it sits a large box with glass doors. An image circulating online offers a preview of what’s behind the glass, and it appears to be the electric M3, rumored to wear the iM3 badge.

Read: A 1,000 HP Electric M3 And A 552 HP Gas M3 Will Have The Same Price Tag

A handful of images claiming to show this car leaked a couple of months back, and what’s sitting at Le Mans looks awfully familiar. Like the regular i3, it wears BMW’s Neue Klasse front fascia, but the track is noticeably wider here, with a pair of squared-off LED daytime running lights flanking each side.

The wing mirrors are particularly interesting, as shown in these photos from the German Car Forums. They don’t look like those on any current BMW M production car; instead, they look more like the mirrors we’d expect to see on a race car. This has prompted some to suggest the vehicle previewed won’t be the production-spec iM3, but rather a concept that previews its design.

A Track-Focused Beast

The vehicle’s presence at Le Mans will come just a few days after BMW released the latest episode in its multi-part documentary detailing the development of the electric M3 sedan. This episode focuses on the car’s brutal testing regime at the Nurburgring Nordschleife, where it’s covered more than 4,970 miles (8,000 km).

While many details about the car remain under wraps, we know it will have a quad-motor setup with an electric motor at each wheel and individual gearboxes. This will enable BMW to precisely control torque distribution. In this clip, BMW says, “this new technology allows us to push the boundaries of vehicle dynamics even further.”

“This allows us to send more power to the wheels that can use it most effectively,” BMW adds. “You can get back on the throttle much earlier, exactly to the slippage area of a wheel, so you can step on the throttle very, very early. The car doesn’t push outwards but is pulled and pushed through the corner, without any understeer or oversteer.”

So, while moving to electric power will no doubt upset some purists, it’s clear BMW is committed to making the iM3 as intoxicating to drive as possible.

BMW is about to do something unusual with its most famous sports sedan. When the next-generation M3 arrives, buyers will get two very different machines wearing essentially the same badge and, crucially, roughly the same price.

According to a new report, BMW intends to sell the electric and combustion M3 side by side in the same price bracket. That might sound straightforward, but it gets interesting once you look at what each version actually delivers.

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The electric M3 could deliver close to 1,000 hp (1,014 PS) from its quad-motor setup, though base models are likely to deliver 700-800 hp (710-811 PS) at launch. Meanwhile, the combustion model will stick with an evolved twin-turbo straight-six boosted by mild hybrid tech to somewhere around 552 hp (560 PS).

Visually, the two cars won’t stray far from each other either. BMW wants them to feel like siblings, not alternatives from different worlds. Expect shared design cues inspired by the Neue Klasse look, even though they’re based on entirely different platforms, the combustion car sticking with an updated version of today’s M3’s CLAR platform.

Panoramic iDrive

Inside, both should follow the same minimalist, screen-heavy direction. That means fewer physical buttons and a more digital-first cabin, incorporating BMW’s Panoramic iDrive tech, which may divide opinion just as much as the powertrain choices.

Combustion M3

Sylvia Neubauer, BMW M’s sales boss, is adamant that both cars will deliver what buyers expect. “It’s not only about acceleration and power, it’s about drivability, manoeuvrability and that level of trust and connection between the driver, car and road,” she told Autocar.

She also made it clear BMW knows not everyone will jump ship to electric overnight. “Obviously we will not convince 100 percent out of the petrolhead target group to buy an all electric BMW M3,” she admitted. “But out of 100 people that try it, we will be able to convince some.”

That explains why the combustion version isn’t going anywhere just yet, though some elements of it might be. Reports suggest the manual gearbox option, currently only available on the non-Competition version of the M3, might be retired. If that happens, even the petrol M3 edges further away from its analog roots.

Electric M3

Lead image BMW