Does BMW M build electric cars out of necessity? No. Or rather, not only for that. The high-performance division of the German car manufacturer takes a stand: making battery-powered sports cars is an opportunity to create faster and more performing models. Words from the head of BMW’s M division, Frank van Meel, who stated that in this case the electric M3 is not produced because the company is obliged to do so, but because it is a conscious choice.
Electric BMW M3 is a choice
The company indeed intends to offer customers the possibility to choose between an electric car and one equipped with an internal combustion engine, which is why it continues to focus on six- and eight-cylinder engines. In fact, the new electric M3 will be sold alongside its combustion counterpart. “We are not making an electric M3 because we are obliged, but because we are convinced that this way we can build a fast and even better car“, he said to Motor1 as reported by Carscoops. He then added that the timing must be right: “It will only work if we manage to make it 100% the way we want it”.
The right car at the right time
Fundamental in this sense is the role of the Neue Klasse platform, which allows the German manufacturer to develop the car from scratch. Relying on a pre-existing architecture could have required modifications to support a large battery pack and powerful electric motors. On this, van Meel explained: “We stated that we could make a high-performance M only with four electric motors, torque vectoring, individual control, a control unit and our software. For us, the car must convey the typical driving sensations of an M”. About the future, the head of BMW M concluded: “We do not decide what our customers must drive. Rather, we want to build cars that we ourselves love”.
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