The Bavarian manufacturer has filed an application to register the BMW iM3 trademark with the patent offices of Germany and the EU. It is assumed that the model will have a four-engine power plant.
The fact that BMW and the BMW M division are planning to release an M3 sports car with an all-electric “filling” has been known for several months. Back in September, the head of the brand's product development department, Frank Weber, confirmed that the “green” M3 super sedan will be presented in a few years, approximately in 2027. Note that the “battery” new product will be launched simultaneously with the version of the Em Troika with an internal combustion engine, which will move into the next generation.
Pictured: BMW Vision Neue Klasse concept
Now, apparently, the name that the electric “charged” sedan will receive – BMW iM3 – has become known: the Bavarian company has filed an application to register the corresponding trademark with the patent offices of Germany and the European Union. This was reported by the German publication Auto Motor und Sport, with the explanation that a different name is necessary to distinguish between the electric version and the M3 version with an internal combustion engine. It is still unknown what differences these models will have in appearance.
It is assumed that the hot sedan with electric filling will borrow a lot from the Vision Neue Klasse concept, which was presented during the Munich Motor Show earlier this fall. It is expected that the BMW iM3 will be based on the Neue Klasse platform (the mentioned show car is also based on it). » /> In the photo: interior of the BMW Vision Neue Klasse 1/2 concept 
In the photo: interior of the BMW Vision Neue Klasse 2/2 concept < p>According to the head of the BMW development department, Frank Weber, the main feature of electric vehicles based on the Neue Klasse will be a new control unit called “Heart of Joy” (literally translated from English — “Heart of Joy”). He previously noted that one integrated control unit includes “everything related to driving performance, chassis control, powertrain.”
In the photo: the current BMW M3 CS sports car
The BMW iM3 is expected to be equipped with an electric four-motor powertrain with a variable amount of power, which is supplied to each wheel as needed. According to preliminary data, the total output of such a system will be 1000 kW (1360 hp). The company has not yet announced the exact installation power of the future electric version of the M3, but noted that it will be higher than that of the version with an internal combustion engine.
Recall that the current BMW M3 sports car, which debuted in the fall of 2020, is equipped with a 3.0-liter inline twin-turbo six, which is in the basic version produces 480 hp (maximum torque – 550 Nm), in the top Competition – 510 hp. (650 Nm). In the first case, a six-speed manual is offered, in the second — an eight-speed M Steptronic automatic transmission. The four-door car takes 4.2 and 3.9 seconds to accelerate from zero to 100 km/h, respectively.
In the photo: the interior of the current BMW M3 CS sports car
The Bavarian brand is gradually “greening up”: last month the BMW X2 cross-coupe and its all-electric version iX2 were presented. A little later, information appeared that the brand might abandon the new generation X4 with an internal combustion engine (its customers will supposedly be taken over by the “X Second”), while it is assumed that development of a “green” crossover is already underway, which could be called iX4.< br />