BMW has started testing what will be its first all-electric ‘M’ car. The German brand’s high performance division – M GmbH – has announced outline details of the prototype project which it describes as a concept the future. Although BMW already offers its i4 in M50 guise, this is the clearest indication yet that it is planning to build a more powerful and performance-focused ‘M’ car to sit alongside iconic models such as the M3 and M5. 

Based on the BMW i4 M50, the test prototypes feature modified bodywork with wider wheel arches that house modified high-performance front and rear axles. The front end also comes with an adapted body strut concept taken from the BMW M3/ M4 series for what BMW describes as ‘particularly high torsional rigidity’ in extremely dynamic driving situations. The arrangement of the radiator units is also based on the configuration found in the M3 and M4 – which is unusual given that they have no internal combustion engine to cool. 

At the heart of the electric M prototype is a new all-wheel drive system that features four electric motors - one for each wheel. BMW reckons that this design gives engineers total control over the driving characteristics of the car. By allowing infinite power distribution between all four wheels, the electric M is likely to be the fastest accelerating M car to date.

While BMW has confirmed that the electric M is in the works and will have all-wheel drive, no further details relating to performance have been announced. The current i4 M50 has 544bhp, 795Nm of torque and a dual motor set up, so an increase on those figures is to be expected in a bespoke M model. It comes with an 84kWh battery pack, which is likely to remain the same given the packaging constraints of the i4 floor. However, while most of the M version’s vital numbers are likely to increase, the range is likely to fall. The Standard i4 M50 has a WLTP figure of 317 miles, a figure that is expected to dip below 300 in the more powerful M version.

No dates or timeframe for the M Electric launch have been announced by BMW.

BMW's first M electric car will have a motor on each wheel and is expected to be the fastest-accelerating BMW ever