BMW bosses have officially confirmed what the rumour mill has been saying for some time, with the hotly anticipated arrival of an M-badged electric performance model which will be unveiled later in 2021.
M boss Markus Flasch made the announcement in a release which reviewed record-breaking 2020 sales for the sub-brand, saying that the German powerhouse will be “presenting an electrically powered performance automobile for the first time” – the model is believed to be an M-badged variant of the forthcoming BMW i4 electric saloon, although we are expecting this to be a ‘lite’ edit and not one from the heavyweight division.
Back when the i4 was launched, BMW said its 523bhp powertrain ranked it “alongside a current BMW V8”. In fact, the i4 uses BMW’s generation 5 electrical system, and is capable of 0-62mph in 4.0 seconds with a range of just over 370 miles.
This would allow the new i4 to take on a Tesla Model 3 in a long range stint but would likely leave it short of its 3 second 0-60 time – perhaps intentionally done so the fully beefed up edit of the ‘i4 M’ (a Regit-only guise for now) could come along with some seriously breath-taking figures if and when that should be announced.
Strap yourselves in…