BMW just took the wraps off it’s updated Vision Neue Klasse EV concept car previewing the upcoming all-electric new 3 Series sedan (pictured here), but between that event and another for the all-new 5 Series and i5 EV sedan, BMW executives have been loose-lipped about the first all-electric M-division performance variant. Here’s everything we know about the 2027 BMW M3 Neue Klasse EV, which, in the absence of official photography, we’ll just need to imagine as a sportier take on the Neue Klasse you see here.

First All-Electric BMW M Car

Various reports from the Straits Times, AutoEvolution, and BMW Blog offer us a decent idea of what to expect for the upcoming all-new, all-electric M3, which will be the first purely-electric vehicle tuned by BMW’s M division. According to these reports, the new M3 EV will build on the Neue Klasse platform concept and is codenamed “ZA0.” The Neue Klasse architecture will first launch as the standard new 3 Series EV and an iX3 EV SUV on the same platform by 2026, before the first performance model comes in 2027.

BMW Neue Klasse Architecture

As it sits currently, the Neue Klasse concept rides on 21-inch wheels and is promised to offer 30 percent more range, 30 percent faster charging, and 25 percent more efficiency than current BMW EV technology, before the M division takes a crack at it for further enhancement.

Up To Four Motors

The platform architecture is designed to be offered in various configurations and segment sizes, with up to four electric motors fitted, one driving each wheel for all-wheel drive, which we’d expect for the high-performance M3 EV. BMW board member Frank Weber offered to the Straits Times that all-wheel-drive performance has proven popular after it was introduced recently on the 5 Series, so we should expect more all-wheel-drive performance cars from BMW going forward.

Trickle-Down Power

The Neue Klasse architecture is reportedly tuned to offer up to a megawatt of power, or 1,340 horsepower, though BMW Blog reports we shouldn’t expect the full application on the M3, at least at first. That’s the upper limit of what the architecture is said to be capable of, and that’s only so far. BMW Blog says its sources claim the new M3 EV will settle for around 700 horsepower, with an e-motor at each corner, in its base application, but that higher-performance (think Competition-spec) versions are inevitable.

“Heart Of Joy” Software

The Neue Klasse architecture includes what BMW calls its “Heart of Joy,” a highly-integrated software stack to handle all of the vehicle’s powertrain processing in a unified manner that improves latency. BMW claims its unified software stack reduces standard 10-20 millisecond delays down to a single millisecond, vastly improving computing and processing power onboard, and improving vehicle performance with quicker reaction times.

No Gas Variant

Unlike the new 5 Series, which launched with gas hybrid models alongside the all-new i5 fully-electric version, the next 3 Series is likely to be EV-only, and that includes its M3 EV performance variant. However, it remains to be seen how long the current gas-powered M3 and M4 models stick around, as they’ll have until 2027 to face the Neue Klasse of all-electric competition.