BMW’s first electric M3 is still at least a year away, but the brand is already giving us a clue about how it plans to keep the emotional side of M alive: by borrowing its own greatest hits and remixing them for the EV age.
In short: the upcoming electric M3, widely expected to wear the iM3 badge, could end up sounding uncannily like some of BMW’s most revered petrol-era machines, including a 5.0-litre V10.
Back to the studio... literally
In a newly released video, BMW’s M development team is shown doing something that feels almost ceremonial: recording classic M cars in a studio to capture their engine sounds in pristine detail.
The roll call reads like an enthusiast fever dream.
There’s the F82 M4 GTS with its twin-turbo 3.0-litre inline-six, the E92 M3 GTS powered by a naturally aspirated 4.4-litre V8, and, most evocatively, the E64 M6 and its howling 5.0-litre V10.
These recordings aren’t about nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake. BMW says the combustion-engine samples are being used to supply the lower-frequency elements that electric motors naturally lack, filling out the sound spectrum beneath the high-pitched whirr of EV hardware.
Not fake gears, but not silent either
BMW has already confirmed the electric M3 will feature simulated gearshifts and a bespoke “soundscape,” and this new footage helps explain how that soundscape is being built.
Rather than letting drivers pick a single retro engine note from a menu, BMW appears to be blending multiple recorded sources with the natural sound of the electric motors. The result, at least in theory, is a layered soundtrack that feels mechanical, muscular, and distinctly M, without pretending the car still runs on petrol.
It’s a more curated approach than simple noise-for-noise’s-sake, and one that suggests BMW is keenly aware of how much of the M experience lives in the ears as well as the hands.
What we know (and what we don’t)
The electric M3 will sit on BMW’s Neue Klasse platform, which also underpins the upcoming iX3 SUV. BMW has confirmed a four-motor setup, one motor per wheel, and an 800V electrical architecture for faster charging.
BMW has not disclosed final power outputs yet, nor the exact form the finished soundscape will take. The model isn’t expected to arrive until 2027, with more details likely teased over the coming year.
For now, though, the message is clear: the electric M3 may be silent by default, but BMW has no intention of letting it feel soulless.