BMW recently gave the M3 Touring a facelift with sharper headlights and a bit more power. Plans are already underway for a CS special edition due in 2025 with plenty of standard carbon fiber parts and other engine upgrades. Looking further ahead, rumors suggest the M division is also working on a long-roofed M3 without a combustion engine.
A well-known BMW insider who understands the Munich agenda and has a track record of doing things right claims that an electric M3 Touring is being planned. Posting on Bimmer Post forum, the source alleges that the Bavarian high-performance electric car has been approved for production. Rather than being based on the CLAR platform like current luxury cars, it will be underpinned by the Neue Klasse architecture developed specifically for electric vehicles.
2025 BMW M3 Touring with inline six-cylinder engine
However, that won’t be happening anytime soon. BMW has already announced that it will launch a Neue Klasse-based 3 Series in 2026, with an electric M3 expected in 2027. Logically, the wagon will follow the sedan, so it likely won’t go on sale before 2028. The same insider claims that the sedan has also been given the green light, along with a next-generation gas-powered M3. Interestingly, there’s no word yet on a similar replacement for the current combustion-powered M3 Touring.
If you want to stay up to date with BMW’s internal codenames, the gas-powered M3 is called the “G84” while the electric model is called the “ZA0.” The zero-emissions M3 Touring is said to be known as the “ZA1.” According to the same trusted source, the German luxury brand is also planning fully electric M versions of the Neue Klasse-based X3 and X4. Those are apparently being called the “ZA5” and “ZA7.”
As for what the actual names of these cars will be, BMW has decided not to combine the “i” with the “M,” so don’t expect an iM3 or something similar. Oddly enough, the two letters have been combined for M Performance electric cars like the i4 M50, i5 M60, and i7 M70.
The 2022 BMW Vision Neue Klasse previews the 2026 3 Series electric sedan and its M3 variant.
