Good news! The first-ever drivable BMW M electric car is temporarily displayed at the BMW Welt in Munich. We first saw the quad-motor beast when testing commenced in 2022. Since then, the i4 M50-based prototype has been featured in official videos. It’s effectively a taste of what’s to come regarding an electric M production model. There are many electric M Performance cars, but not a full-fat M.
The i4 M50 is an evolution of an M2 F87 electric prototype, aka “The Beast.” The newer test car also has a name, “Nadine,” and borrows hardware from production BMW M models. For example, the wider axles come from the M3 and M5, while the carbon-ceramic brakes are of the M variety as well. Additionally, the battery cells are not the same in the production i4 M50.
As you can tell, the prototype’s front end is a little bit different from the i4 M50’s. It has the aggressive kidney grille of the gasoline-fueled M3/M4 models. Based on the pre-LCI model, the test car sits on M Performance wheels and has an M-specific camo wrap. This colorful M-themed disguise was also recently seen on prototypes of the electric M3 (“ZA0”).
BMW calls it a one-off prototype, and while specifications haven’t been disclosed, we know it has over 1,000 horsepower. The Vision Driving Experience that followed the i4 M50 pushed the total output beyond 1,300 hp. However, don’t expect the electric M3 to have anywhere near this much muscle. The initial version coming in 2027 is likely to have just under 700 hp. It would still be a significant upgrade compared to the current G80.
Although Nadine has been engineered with a quad-motor setup, BMW’s Neue Klasse models will also be sold with one, two, or three motors. There isn’t going to be a front-wheel-drive NK model, so don’t worry about an M model with an FWD layout. It’s not going to happen. The M3 electric could start off with a dual-motor, rear-wheel-drive layout and go up from there later in the life cycle.
BMW M has an exciting future ahead, especially since there will be another gasoline M3, the “G84.” The conventionally powered sports sedan will follow the electric M3. Expect to see it in 2028, possibly with only two pedals and AWD.
Source: BMW Welt / Instagram