When it comes to cars that make your pulse race, BMW has never been one to sit idly by. But while petrol purists still swear by the roar of a V8 and the smell of octane, Munich is toying with an idea that could shake their foundations: an electric sports car. Yes, you heard that right – BMW is considering electrifying its legendary M division, but as the old Bavarian saying goes: "Slowly goes a long way." Or maybe not. Will it be the BMW i3 M?!
BMW's first true electric M, perhaps even the BMW i3 M EV, isn't expected to hit the road until around 2028. And what's going to make it special? Something BMW is fondly calling the "Heart of Joy." No, that's not the title of a new romantic comedy, but a marketing ploy for one of four new "super brains" that BMW is developing for its Neue Klasse platform. We'll first see this technology in the electric iX3, a crossover that promises to be revolutionary.
So what is this “Heart of Joy”? According to Joachim Post, BMW’s chief technical wizard, it’s a combination of hardware and software wizardry that will take the driving performance of electric vehicles to a new level. “With 20 times faster computing power and an electric drive, we can achieve dynamics that we’ve never seen before,” Post explained to Engine1From stabilization to chassis and drive control – everything is supposed to work like a Swiss watch, except it's made in Germany.
Electric sports car: possible, but not promised – BMW i3 M
In a conversation with Australian journalists, the Post for the magazine Drive revealed that it is technically possible to create a real sports car on the Neue Klasse platform, not just “saucy” versions of existing models. But before you start dreaming about an electric successor to the legendary M1, calm your horses – BMW hasn’t said “yes” yet. Instead, they emphasize that the modularity of their platform allows for such feats, if they decide to do so. “All the components are the same, just packaged differently,” says Post. In other words: if the business calculation is right, a miracle might happen.
BMW doesn't have a rich history with true sports cars. Think of the M1, which was more or less an unhappy love story with Lamborghini that ended in financial ruin. Then there's the BMW Vision M Next, a hybrid concept that was on the verge of production a few years ago, but was stopped by a cocktail of pandemic and exorbitant costs. And while BMW plans more than 40 new models by the end of 2027, there won't be an electric version of this concept among them. Too bad, right?
Why not now? Because money grows on SUV trees
The Neue Klasse is a project worth more than 10 billion euros to BMW, so it makes sense that they are focusing on models that bring in money – namely SUVs and sedans. Sports cars like the Z4 have never been a sales hit, and when the Z4 waves goodbye next year, we don’t expect a direct successor. Even the i8, BMW’s attempt at an electric-hybrid sports car, has sold just under 20,000 units in six years. Apparently, buyers would rather pay half a million euros for limited editions like the Skytop or Speedtop – essentially a rebadged M8 – than for something truly new.
But there's hope. If buyers are willing to shell out the big bucks for niche models, it could convince BMW bosses to give the green light to something bolder. The question is whether an electric sports car at the same price would attract the same enthusiasm as a V8 with a targa roof or shooting brake body. That's the million-dollar question - literally.
What does this mean for us? And when can we expect the BMW i3 M?
BMW-'s electric future is exciting, but still shrouded in mystery. The Neue Klasse platform holds a lot of promise, and if the "Heart of Joy" is as revolutionary as they claim, we could have an electric car that will silence even purists. But until we see concrete steps, everything remains just a teaser. Will we see an electric M3 or maybe even a real electric sports car? Maybe. Maybe not.
What do you think? Would you get behind the wheel of an electric BMW or do you still swear by the petrol symphony? Leave a comment below and join the discussion!
