Electric vehicles have many benefits: they are silent, produce near-instant torque, accelerate faster than most gas-powered vehicles, and don’t require a complicated transmission to put down power. That last one is considered positive for most drivers, but car enthusiasts are an odd breed. We live off the smell of tire smoke and the sound of gasoline exploding in a cylinder. Feeling a transmission shift, and telling the gearbox when to change gears… that’s all part of the fun.
- Base Trim Engine
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3.0L Twin-Turbo Inline-6 Gas
- Base Trim Transmission
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6-Speed Manual
- Base Trim Drivetrain
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Rear-Wheel Drive
Sadly, BMW has already confirmed the next-generation electric 3 Series, likely called the i3, will not have a manual transmission. That includes the M version, which may be named the i3 M or iM3. There will also be a gasoline-powered BMW M3 sold alongside the electric one, likely with an inline-six under the hood equipped with an eight-speed automatic transmission. Speaking with the company in Germany during a preview of the new iX3, CarBuzz learned the car may have some other surprise.
“We want it to feel authentic. If you want shifts, there will still be a gas M3. But we have something very surprising coming. You won’t be disappointed.”
– Peter Mueller, vice president product management Neue Klasse
Not Copying Hyundai
BMW has sent a clear message with this statement; it will not copy Hyundai’s N vehicles. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N (and soon-to-be Ioniq 6 N) revolutionized the performance electric vehicle market by simulating the feeling of an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission and playing the sound of an engine through the speakers. The latter had already been done by several automakers, but the former unlocked a new level of excitement and connectivity that we’d never felt in an EV. When driving spiritedly, the gears make it easier to judge speed, especially when braking before a corner. It’s pretty revolutionary. It’s also rather fun, if not a bit silly.
Other automakers are starting to take notice, as we’ve seen Lexus integrate an M Mode into the Lexus RZ with plans to create a more extreme simulated manual with LFA sounds in future EVs. Even some other German automakers, who are notorious for only adding features if they make the car go faster, are getting in on simulated gears. The Mercedes-AMG GT XX Concept previews artificial V8 sounds with fake gears and Porsche is working on a way to mimic the feel of a PDK in an EV. We’re sure the electric M3 will be fast, but we’d hate to see it get knocked for being less exciting than competitors if it doesn’t embrace a bit of whimsy.
What Is The “Surprise?”
It’s clear that BMW will not embrace manual shifting or simulated gears for the electric M3, so what is this big surprise that supposedly won’t disappoint us? Well, our conversation about performance EVs contained two topics: feel and sound. The latter could be what BMW was referring to with “something very surprising.”
In the past, BMW teamed up with Hans Zimmer to create sounds for the i4 and the iX, called IconicSounds. While these were novel, they didn’t try to mimic the exhaust note of an inline-six or V8. We’d love to see BMW give the electric M3 different sound profiles from past generations. Imagine having a menu where you could select from past M3 models – E30, E36, E46, E9X, F8X, G8X – and the speakers would emulate the sound. If BMW does think gears are the right way to make an EV “feel authentic,” perhaps sound is the next best thing.
As for the true nature of the surprise, we couldn’t get BMW to share anything more at this time. But we really like the idea of climbing into a silent M3 and selecting a high-strung S14 four-pot from an E30 for a quick drive to town. Once there, maybe switch over to the V8 howl of an S65, and on the long drive home, listening to the inline-six chatter from an E46 wouldn’t be the worst way to end the day.
