New reports claim the next BMW X3 M performance SUV could adopt battery power and electric motors, replacing turbo petrol propulsion after one generation.
The high-performance BMW X3 M SUV is tipped to swap turbo petrol propulsion for electric power, according to a new report.
BMW Blog claims the current petrol-powered X3 M will adopt electric power for its next generation, as part of a new iX3 electric SUV range underpinned by BMW’s ‘Neue Klasse’ electric vehicle architecture, which will begin rolling out across its model range from 2025.
This is despite the next-generation X3 being expected to continue to be sold with petrol, diesel, and plug-in hybrid options – including a petrol successor to today’s six-cylinder X3 M40i, which may adopt the X3 M50i name.
Spy photos of the next X3 from June 2022 show the prototype fitted with quad exhaust tips – a trademark of M cars – though this could suggest this is the M50i, and that traditional BMW M styling cues are filtering down to lesser models.
While the next-generation X3 M – or iX3 M, as it could be known – isn’t due until 2026 or 2027, the company has suggested it would be pivoting towards electric cars in the second half of this decade.
MORE: 2025 BMW X3 spied for the first time
However, in January 2022 German media reported the M3 sedan and M4 coupe – also due at the same time as the high-performance SUV – could either be purely electric, or potentially plug-in hybrids.
The next BMW M5 (due in 2024) is all but confirmed to have plug-in hybrid power, with the combination of electric motors and the 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 expected to make in excess of 500kW, according to a company insider.
The M5 is likely to be the one of the last V8 M models from the carmaker, but it’s not clear whether it will be the last M car to utilise petrol, or if models like the X3 M and M3 will switch entirely to batteries.
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