BMW i3 M60: looks like the next fast electric 3 Series will get… 604bhp

The BMW iX3 is an SUV with lots of range that now comes in a version with less range but literally all of the power. It’s called the iX3 M60 – no idea either, sorry – and it’s not the focus of our attention.

No, our focus is on the cool one, the i3 four-door saloon that’ll also come with all the power. Using TopGear.com’s extensive detective skills (of which there are two), BMW recently confirmed the i3 would be treated to an M60 variant. And now BMW has confirmed the stats on the iX3 M60.

So, putting two and two together, you get... 604bhp. Because this is the exceedingly potent drivetrain that’ll feature in the one you really (and should) want. (It’s also the same treatment applied to the iX4, but… come on, a coupe SUV? You’re better than that.)

That headline is bananas. Six hundred and four electric horsepowers and 645lb ft delivered to all four wheels from a pair of electric motors – one on the front axle and one on the back – and a 108.7kWh battery to record a 0-62mph time of 3.9s and a top speed of 149mph. Three point nine. That’s not fast saloon pace, that’s a supercar.

In the iX3, BMW quotes up to 468 miles of range from that giant battery on the WLTP cycle, but expect less if you intend on deploying more of those electric horsepowers. Because it’s a Neue Klasse BMW, it also comes with 800V tech, which means you can use a 400kW hose when recharging. That’s 211 miles in ten minutes.

Each NK BMW comes with the company’s ‘Heart of Joy’ control system that changes the behaviour of all the major drive parameters and offers fine control of the chassis. And each M-badged NK BMW comes with a something called a ‘Dynamic Performance Control Driving Stack’ that joins the party too. Basically, it’ll turn it into something that really likes to turn.

All M cars come with big brakes, standard-fit adaptive suspension, sport steering, and a few chassis tweaks to keep it all pointing the right way. There’s other, less M-y tech on board too like Level 2 assistance and other such gubbins, but really… let’s just circle back to the whole ‘640bhp’ thing.

Naturally you get all the M goodies inside and out as you can see: sports seats, special colourways and stitching, high-end audio, big wheels, the windscreen-width display, and even special yellow headlights that hark back to classic BMW M cars.

Looking very punchy for the incoming i3 M60. Still want that M3?