BMW is getting weird with the next-gen M3, offering not only two different powertrains for the first time, but two entirely different methods of propulsion. When it comes time to buy your new BMW M3, you’ll have the choice of either gas or electric. Thankfully, according to BMW, price won’t factor much into that decision.
BMW M sales boss Sylvia Neubauer told Autocar “The good news is that from a pricing perspective, that are in the same ballpark.”
Customers won’t have to choose between design too much, either. While each version will have its own specific styling cues, since both cars have a few major mechanical design requirements, such as cooling, they should look pretty similarly. “There will be functional differences that lead to a different design in some areas of the car, but when you look at them, you will see that they are twins,” Neubauer said.
It will be interesting to see how BMW handles the designs between both cars, considering they’re built on different platforms. The electric M3 will sit on the new Neue Klasse platform, just like the new i3. But the gas M3 will ride on the much older CLAR platform, just with Neue Klasse styling. I’m sure the designs will be close, but certain hard points, like pillars and dash-to-axle ratio, could be different enough to make them noticeably unique.
Source: BMW
Both cars should still drive like M cars, though. Even though one is piston-powered and one is electric, BMW is so confident that both will inspire similar thrills and driver engagement that they’re encouraging customers to drive them back-to-back. “Obviously we will not convince 100 percent out of the petrolhead target group to buy an all electric BMW M3. But out of 100 people that try it, we will be able to convince some. And for everybody else, we will still provide combustion engines,” she said.
One will be significantly more powerful than other, with the electric M3 said to have as much as 1,000 horsepower. Even with BMW’s hybrid tech, it’s unlikely the gas-powered M3 reaches such heights. But power is only one aspect of an M car’s fun. So both M3s will have to deliver on driver engagement and handling precision, too. BMW seems pretty confident that both cars do just that, according to Neubauer.
“But it’s always a BMW M. When we talk about the BMW M3, it’s the M3 no matter the drivetrain. The driving experience must be true, and you decide it you want EV or ICE.”
