BMW’s electric 3 Series already exists in two flavors — the i3 40 xDrive (374 hp) and the i3 50 xDrive (469 hp in UK specification) — and a third is now confirmed: the i3 M60 xDrive M Performance, announced in late September 2026 and slated for a 2027 arrival. Built on BMW’s Neue Klasse electric architecture with Gen6 M eDrive technology and twin electric motors, the M60 will sit above both current models. Power output, torque, range, battery capacity, acceleration, and price remain unannounced. The shape is confirmed; everything else is still classified.
What BMW Actually Showed You
Sharp yellow DRL elements, carbon-fiber details, and a Boost button signal BMW’s intent — even if the performance figures don’t yet follow.
Exterior and interior details observed on the displayed prototype include:
- Black performance wheels replacing the metallic units visible on the i3 50
- Sharper headlights with yellow vertical daytime-running-light strips and a classic M badge at the front
- Carbon-fiber mirror caps wearing the M division’s three-color motif plus a small aerodynamic flick
- A more pronounced rear diffuser
- Black upholstery with red and blue stitching inside
- A steering wheel with silver L-shaped spokes, a red 12-o’clock marker, and dedicated Boost and M Mode controls
These details are observed on the prototype, not confirmed production specification. Optional M Performance parts extend the carbon treatment to a front splitter, rear spoiler, and M Performance wheels. It looks the part. Whether it fully plays the part is a story for 2027.
BMW has not disclosed the M60’s power, torque, range, battery capacity, or pricing ahead of the full 2027 reveal. The i3 40 and i3 50 xDrive models are expected to reach dealerships earlier, with UK customer deliveries beginning in autumn 2026 and U.S. availability commencing in the first quarter of 2027. BMW describes the M60 as an “ultra-potent” electric performance model — its words, not an independent assessment.
M Performance Is Not M – That Distinction Matters
M Performance occupies a tier below BMW’s full-M cars, and a more powerful electric M model is expected to follow the M60 later.
M Performance models like the M60 receive performance-tuned hardware and M styling cues. Full-M cars — like the M3 — undergo comprehensive development by BMW M GmbH. The i3 M60 is the former, not the latter, and BMW has indicated that a more powerful, full-fledged electric M model will eventually follow. The M60 is best understood as BMW stress-testing its performance identity under electric conditions, not delivering the final answer.
On performance expectations: the i3 50’s 469 hp (UK) and 4.7-second 0–62-mph sprint represent the current ceiling of the electric i3 range. Positioned above it, the M60 may reasonably be expected to surpass those figures — but that remains an inference from BMW’s lineup logic, not a confirmed specification. “Ultra-potent,” BMW called it. That’s a promise, not a datasheet.
What Comes Next
Until BMW discloses powertrain output, range, and pricing, the i3 M60 remains a confirmed silhouette built on unconfirmed performance credentials.
BMW is expected to disclose powertrain output, charging specifications, range, pricing, and market availability at the full 2027 reveal — alongside other models worth waiting for in the coming model years. Until then, the M60 is a genuinely compelling shape with genuinely unknown numbers. What it already signals is clear enough: BMW intends to carry its performance hierarchy into the electric era — one confirmed, if currently spec-less, M Performance sedan at a time.
