BMW M quad-motor EV prototype revealed
Could this be an all-electric replacement for the BMW M3 and M4 performance twins?BMW M has announced it has developed an all-new quad-motor four-wheel drive electric powertrain that is currently undergoing testing in a highly modified BMW i4 M50.
Said to feature a completely revised chassis set-up and a new dynamics control system, the four-motor battery-electric drivetrain may not simply be used for current M models but could herald the next-generation replacement for the BMW M3 and M4.
In a short video of the modified BMW i4 on the road, it’s clear the adoption of the quad-motor set-up has seen the prototype adopt a wider body.
It’s not known if this is to package the four electric motors or if it’s a wider track to cope with the considerable bump in performance that could see total power rise to around 745kW.
Unusually for an EV, the i4 prototype looks like it has had the combustion-powered BMW M3 nose grafted onto it, presumably for extra cooling.
Thanks to the quad-motor arrangement, BMW M says it has developed an all-new fully variable M xDrive all-wheel drive system that sees each wheel’s torque and power output precisely managed by a central control unit.
Bizarrely, the same control unit will oblige an amusing tank turn or 180-degree donut rotation, although the manoeuvre in the video looks completely fake.
The suspension of the standard i4, meanwhile, has been junked for units from the M3 and M4 that have more rigid mountings to cope with the higher cornering forces.
“Electrification opens up completely new degrees of freedom for us to create M-typical dynamics,” said BMW M R&D boss Dirk Häcker.
“And we can already see that we can exploit this potential to the maximum so that our high-performance sports cars will continue to offer the M-typical and incomparable combination of dynamics, agility and precision in the locally emission-free future.”
No timeline has been provided when BMW M will launch a production EV that will run its new quad-motor powertrain, but the upcoming BMW XM could feature some of the new chassis tech.
Related: BMW M3 2022 Review
Related: BMW XM 2022 Review – International
Related: Electric BMW i4 M50 no match for M3 or M4
Related: BMW i4 M50 2022 Review
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