BMW's M series cars have always been about high performance, delivering on the promise of a driver's car, and it looks like BMW will continue that legacy when it finally shifts its focus to EVs. BMW recently gave us all a look at its first prototype EV from the M series via its YouTube channel.
The biggest news to come out of the M-series team is that the upcoming BMW M series performance EVs will all eventually be equipped with quad-motor AWD. Control and torque distribution were also a big focus for BMW in the prototype showcase. The company claiming that the central control unit in the M EVs will basically integrate all functions, like traction control, torque distribution, and braking controls, into one unit, both in the name of simplicity and improved control.
"We will see the technical concept that we are devleoping here now, four electric motors in all BMW M High Performance vehicles at some point in the future" — Carsten Wolf, Integration Vehicle Characteristics BMW M
This quote from Wolf also serves as confirmation that all BMW M cars will, at some point, be electric, which may or may not be good news, depending on which sort of car enthusiast you talk to. Currently, the only BMW EVs with M badges come from the run-of-the-mill “i” branded family, like the BMW i4 M50 xDrive, and while they feature AWD, the power originates from a dual-motor setup, which offers significantly less flexibility than a quad-motor setup.
The first M-series EV looks to be the M3, given that will be the first family of sedans BMW will focus on in its EV transition, although it's unclear exactly when that will launch to the public. For now, BMW plans to launch the Neue Klasse-based i3 sedan in 2026, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see an M3 EV around 2028 or 2029.
A quad-motor AWD drive train on an EV has the potential to make the car much more responsive to handling inputs, thanks to the improved traction from having all four wheels transmitting power and because of features like torque vectoring. If implemented correctly, torque vectoring varies the amount of power put down through each wheel to maintain traction and speed through a corner.
For BMW's SUVs, it will not only make the EVs safer on the roads, but it could make them more off-road capable, since torque vectoring can direct power to only the wheels that have traction when in adverse conditions. In addition to enhanced steering, safety, and traction, quad-motor drivetrains can also improve the efficiency of regenerative braking, since all four wheels are able to regenerate energy using the motors.
These benefits, on- and off-road, come at the cost of range, though, so we will likely see BMW include some way to disable some of the motors in a sort of economy mode — a practice that has more or less become the norm, anyway.