BMW has made it abundantly clear that the Vision Driving Experience (VDX) won’t go into production. Nevertheless, we still believe some of its traits will trickle down to what will become the first full-fat M electric car. Before the gas-free M3 arrives in a few years, its indirect precursor has finally shed its camouflage.
We first saw the VDX a couple of months ago, cloaked in the familiar black-and-white swirly camo typically worn by test prototypes. But ahead of its public debut at Auto Shanghai later this week, BMWBLOG had the special opportunity to shoot the quad-motor EV completely uncovered. That’s right, the super sedan has four electric motors delivering a switchable combined output of 1,300 to 1,700 horsepower.
A more muscular take on the 2023 Vision Neue Klasse, the VDX sports an aggressive body kit with bulging fenders. Even though it’s not destined for showrooms, BMW fitted it with a tow hook cap and traditional mirrors in place of the concept’s side cameras. The body now packs extra vents and intakes, and it features unusual door handles: winglets on the B-pillars for the front doors, and the Hofmeister kink doubles as the handle for the rear doors.
When the VDX was first shown in February, it had a bare-bones cabin. Now, it’s a bit more civilized, though still far from tame. The interior features bucket seats with a racing harness and a vertical rally-style handbrake. This surely isn’t a typical family sedan, although that center screen is coming to production BMWs. It’s part of the new iDrive, which also includes a dashboard-wide projection dubbed “Panoramic Vision” with customizable tiles. Between the seats, you’ll spot physical test buttons, the kind usually found in development vehicles.
While you can’t buy a VDX, its “Heart of Joy” control unit will live on in production models. Entirely developed in-house, this advanced system can process data ten times faster than current setups and is robust enough to handle the VDX’s staggering 18,000 Newton meters (13,269 pound-feet) of wheel torque. For the sake of clarity, the astounding number refers to wheel torque.
The electric M3, codenamed “ZA0,” is still a few years out but has already been spotted testing at the Nürburgring. It’ll be far more subdued than the VDX, and dare we say, that might not be such a bad thing. Some may find the VDX’s design too outlandish, especially the rear. Even so, this wild prototype offers a glimpse into BMW M’s electric future, one that doesn’t rely on combustion. That said, ICE M cars aren’t going anywhere just yet. In fact, a new inline-six-powered M3 (G84) is on the way later this decade.