The first electric M is officially undergoing testing. Announcing it is BMW M, the Munich-based automaker’s most track-oriented rib, which in a dedicated press release just issued reassures less conservative fans by assuring them that the first battery-powered M is on its way. It has been exactly 50 years since the birth of BMW M, a name that has thrilled and electrified enthusiasts and others since 1972, an electrification that is now coming to fruition, albeit a bit later than other players in the automotive world.
Mind you, BMW M has only announced the start of the first tests and shared a few details about it, so a lot of patience is still needed before we can touch on it, but the first details that have emerged already bode well. Suffice it to say that the concept being tested has as many as four engines offering all-wheel drive and a dedicated driving dynamics control system that is already paying off in terms of dynamism and cornering grip. But let’s find out more.
What will the first electric M look like? The images and details shared by BMW.
For our 50th anniversary we are not only looking back, but we are above all projecting ourselves into the future, said Franciscus van Meel, the chairman of the board of BMW M GmbH, on that occasion. And what better time to announce the first details and the start of testing of the first electric M than now.
While waiting for the BMW i7, the electric flagship that the Munich-based automaker will introduce in dealerships next November, and although cars like the BMW i4 M50 and the iX M60 may laud themselves for bearing the M badge, a true electric BMW M has not yet arrived. The first one will most likely be based on the concept that the manufacturer recently began testing, a vehicle born right out of the i4 M50 but with a heart of its own, consisting of no less than four electric motors. The body will also be unique, modified in the BMW M style with wide wheel arches and several nods to the brand’s history. The photo you see below shows a concept evidently based on the i4 M50, albeit with several references to the current BMW M3 and M4 series.
But aesthetics aside, what is certain and made official is that the prototype BMW is testing is all-wheel drive and equipped with four electric motors that work in concert with a dynamic ride control system, an all-electric model with specially made front and rear axles. The all-wheel-drive system of this first electric M is called M xDrive, a solution that dedicates an electric motor to each wheel with the aim of distributing drive torque in an infinitely variable, precise and immediate manner. In a matter of milliseconds, the power and torque of the electric motors can be so precisely metered that the load demand associated with the accelerator pedal can be optimized with dynamic levels impossible to achieve with conventional drive systems reads the related press release (where other details about it can also be found).
But it is worth concluding this by quoting Dirk Häcker, the head of the development department at BMW M GmbH: Electrification gives us completely new degrees of freedom to create the dynamics typical of the M brand. And we have already seen that we can exploit this potential to the fullest, so that our sports cars can continue to offer the typical M experience, the incomparable dynamics, agility and precision in an emission-free future.
Early tests of the all-electric M prototype have shown that the cornering speeds achieved are significantly higher than usual, thanks to the particularly sensitive torque metering and virtually latency-free conversion that make a difference especially when the road is wet or snowy. But for more details on this, in addition to the press release mentioned above, we invite you to read the interview with Dirk Häcker himself published today on the BMW M website, who, while not giving away any dates or timeframes, is keen to make it clear that the goal is at least to make the electric comparable with current M cars in terms of track performance. We will keep you updated.
