BMW M confirms electric quad motor

Quad e-motor power has been confirmed for the first generation of all-electric high-performance BMW M vehicles that will be led by the next-gen G84 M3 super-sedan in 2027.

BMW M’s first briefing about its new electric powertrain focussed on the technology and the driving experience it is expected to deliver.

“We will set a new benchmark in driving dynamics,” BMW M Neue Klasse boss Philipp Brunn promised.

“We are going to combine driving qualities for the daily driving with outstanding track driving qualities.

“We are going to stay true to our BMW M DNA, we are implementing active safety features and we are going to enhance the familiar BMW M driving experience.”

The over-arching EV system intended to deliver all this is called BMW M eDrive. Essentially, M has taken BMW’s latest Gen6 EV system, renamed it and wound it up to 11... or more.

The radical, complex and expensive quad-motor set-up is BMW M’s work.

It integrates with recalibrated software and hardware and retuned and uprated cylindrical cell battery tech that recently debuted with the first mainstream BMW Neue Klasse model, the iX3 SUV.

Neue Klasse is the all-encompassing engineering and design platform that will reach out and influence every BMW – be it EV or internal combustion – from this point on.

BMW M won’t talk about the supposed 1000kW output of its power system, instead confirming the quad-motor set-up has one oil-cooled drive unit comprising two e-motors arranged in parallel with one inverter on each axle.

Each high-density e-motor is devoted to driving an individual wheel via its own reduction gearset. There is no interconnection between any wheel.

Instead, a retuned version of the weirdly named Heart of Joy dynamics superbrain sourced from Neue Klasse handles how motive forces are distributed.

BMW M says these are the most powerful drives it’s ever used, but no quantifying number was offered.

The set-up allows a new form of M xDrive all-wheel drive and the decoupling of the front axle for traditional BMW M rear-wheel drive.

“The unique concept gives us the chance to have performance levels on production cars never seen at BMW M before,” Brunn claimed.

“Further advances include precise control of torque and power to fully utilise tyre performance potential on all friction surfaces.

“So starting from snow, wet, to high grip situations we can continuously blend the electro-hydraulic brake and the electric motors.

BMW M has also employed the high-voltage battery storage housing as a structural component connected to the body and suspension.

Driving characteristics will be tuned by different modes with “emulated” gear shifting offered in some of them and – perhaps less enticingly – “an exclusive soundscape” that’s been previously teased. Most of these features have been patented and will be exclusive to BMW M Models.

The powertrain will be fuelled by an 800V battery pack employing more than 100kWh in capacity, but measuring slightly less than the iX3 (108.7kWh net).

The Neue Klasse’s lithium-ion cell chemistry has been revised to prioritise sustained peak performance and faster charging.

Brunn said both peak output and recharging power would be better than the standard Neue Klasse. Recuperation rates were also claimed to be higher.

However, the BMW M retune will mean reduced range between recharges.

The pack has been upgraded to two-sided cooling and the high-voltage management system (or Energy Master) has been modified for sustained performance and optimised for higher current.

“We had to push the limits of the battery,” Brunn admitted.

BMW M’s also confirmed fully natural fibre elements will be part of the construction process for the first time in M models.

These will aid lighter weight construction and while offering similar properties to carbon-fibre, can be produced with around 40 per cent less CO2 emissions.

While a 1000kW-plus output is expected from the first BMW M3 EV, that number remains unconfirmed for now.

So does the car’s name, although patents suggest it could be called iM3.

There was also no confirmation of how the car will look, or the ground effects it allegedly might feature.

The best ideas we have of all that come from camouflaged teasers of the M HP BEV test mules and the next-gen i3 sedan that’s been shown in disguise.

We also still don’t know anything official about the internal combustion M3 that will continue on-sale alongside the electric version.

Speaking of which, just far away is the first BMW M EV?

“It’s still a few months to go before we will have the first cars on the road, but the prototypes are already being tested on-road and test tracks,” Brunn said.

“When can you buy the car? You’ll have to wait until at least 2027 and there is still a lot of work for us to do to get it ready for its launch.”

But Brunn was emphatic the wait will be worth it.

“I’m very happy and lucky that I had the chance to drive one of those early prototypes and it’s amazing and insane what you can experience when driving them.

“So I’m very happy and you can all be very happy when you get the chance in the future to drives those cars.”

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