BMW recently gave the M3 Touring a nip and tuck with sharper headlights and slightly more power. Plans are already in motion for a hardcore CS special edition scheduled for 2025 with lots of standard carbon fiber bits and another boost for the engine. Looking further ahead, rumor has it the M division is also cooking up a long-roof M3 without a combustion engine.
A well-known BMW insider familiar with Munich’s agenda who has a good track record of getting things right claims an electric M3 Touring is planned. Posting on the Bimmer Post forums, the source alleges a performance electric wagon from Bavaria has been approved for production. Rather than being based on the CLAR platform as the current super estate, it’ll be underpinned by the Neue Klasse architecture developed specifically for EVs.
The 2025 BMW M3 Touring with an inline-six engine
It’s not coming anytime soon, though. BMW has announced it will launch a Neue Klasse-based 3 Series in 2026, with the electric M3 expected in 2027. Logic tells us the wagon will come after the sedan, so it’s unlikely to go on sale before 2028. The same insider mentions the sedan has also been given the green light, along with a next-gen M3 with gas power. Interestingly, there’s no word about a like-for-like replacement for the current M3 Touring with a combustion engine.
If you enjoy staying on top with BMW’s internal codenames, the gas M3 is supposedly called the “G84” while the electric model is “ZA0.” The zero-emission M3 Touring is said to be known as the “ZA1.” According to the same trusted source, the German luxury brand is also plotting fully electric M versions of the Neue Klasse-based X3 and X4. These are apparently referred to as the “ZA5” and “ZA7,” respectively.
As to what actual names these cars are going to have, BMW has already ruled out combining “i” with “M,” so don’t expect iM3 or something to that effect. Oddly enough, the two letters have already been put together for electric M Performance cars such as the i4 M50, i5 M60, and the i7 M70.
The 2022 BMW Vision Neue Klasse previews the 2026 3 Series electric sedan and its M3 variant
BMW M boss Frank van Meel told Ars Technica a while back that the engineers are working on a dual-motor setup with rear-wheel-drive and a beefier quad-motor layout with all-wheel drive. The M3 models are reportedly getting the former setup, good for roughly 700 horsepower. It should be the same story with the M variants of the electric X3 and X4 since they’ll all be mechanically related.
It’s too early to know whether the electric M3 Touring will be sold in the United States where the current performance wagon remains a forbidden fruit. Seeing the glass half full, America is getting the bigger M5 Touring scheduled to debut before the end of this year.