The biggest event in sports car racing runs this weekend in France, but it looks like the racecars won’t be the only four-wheeled heroes grabbing headlines. A photo taken near Le Circuit de la Sarthe in France, where the Le Mans 24 Hours race is held, shows what appears to be the new electric M3. Just waiting to make its first official appearance.
Will BMW M Reveal The iM3 This Weekend?
An image was posted to Facebook from the Dutch version of Autoblog (embedded above) showing a temporary display set up by BMW. There is a silhouette of a car visible inside that looks very familiar.
The image matches CarBuzz spy photos of the upcoming electric iM3. It has the same Neue Klasse running lights and side-mounted driving lights as those shot. The pedestal-mounted mirrors stand out, but looking back at the spy photos shows that the design could be the same. BMW’s camo was just very effective.
BMW has been dropping some hints that the new car is getting closer to making its reveal. The latest in its series of BMW M Electrified videos hyping the car – the fifth video – went live over the weekend. That’s another sign.
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The German automaker could have some other things planned for Le Mans. The company was out of the top classes for years until 2024, and it hasn’t won since 1999. BMW’s Le Mans Hypercar entries will include the company’s 20th Art Car, as well, continuing another significant part of its history.
“World Premiere” Hiding Inside
BMW M3 EV Prototype Spy PhotosCarBuzz/Valnet
BMW’s display says “Stay tuned. World premiere inside.” That’s a strong sign you’re going to see the iM3 inside that box, but it’s also a very large event for a car this important, and it would be easy for it to be overshadowed by any number of things. For example, crashes, dramatic action, or BMW’s failure to win or even do well. There are no guarantees, and for a debut this important, anything overshadowing the car is bad.
So this could be a concept car, instead. Before we saw the i3 and iX3, we got the Vision Neue Klasse and the Vision Neue Klasse X. This reveal could be the concept form of the iM3, saving the full reveal for a later date. Seeing it later this year at IAA in Munich this fall makes more sense.
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There are high expectations for the first electric BMW M car. BMW M has shown development mules making 1,300 horsepower with four motors. It has also very heavily hyped its Heart of Joy computer that handles almost every aspect of driving the car in one unit for quicker responses. There’s also the pressure of just being a new BMW M car, and that comes with some very big shoes to fill.
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:
We’ve been waiting for BMW’s first electric M for what feels like years now. The company has been successful with the PHEV M5 (despite the weight), and it hasn’t fallen into the same trap that Mercedes-AMG has with its I4 PHEV models.
As impressive as the AMG GT 4 Door is on the spec sheet, it’s the iM3 that will really show if electric sports sedans are mainstream yet. The gas M3 is a default choice when it comes to a fast and compact sedan, and if the EV can’t become the same, then it could end up as a disaster. We’ll find out soon enough.
Source: Autoblog NL
