Electric BMW M will draw its sound from the M3 GTS, M4 GTS and M6 V10

The answer will not be a fake V10 played through the speakers. BMW is studying the sound DNA of the M4 GTS straight-six, the M3 GTS V8 and the M6 V10, then blending it with the natural tone of electric motors to create a distinct acoustic identity for the next M generation.

BMW M does not want to fake an engine

The M4 GTS, M3 GTS and M6 are not just three famous BMWs. They represent three very different eras of M: a turbocharged straight-six, a high-revving V8 and an exotic V10. BMW is not using them to create a sound menu where the driver chooses “V8” or “V10”. It is using them to understand what makes an M car’s sound emotionally readable to the driver.

BMWBLOG reports BMW M boss Frank van Meel’s message clearly: an electric M car should not pretend to be a combustion-engined car, but it does need acoustic feedback that creates a familiar and believable connection with the driver. According to the same source, BMW M recorded the sounds of the E92 M3 GTS, F82 M4 GTS and E64 M6, with the aim of mixing them with the base tones of electric motors to create a new M-specific soundscape.

An electric M car needs sound because silence removes information

Straight-line speed is not the problem for an electric performance car. The problem is how the driver reads that speed. A combustion engine talks constantly: rising revs, intake tone, exhaust pressure, gearshift timing and vibration all give the body reference points. An electric powertrain delivers huge thrust, but often does so in a linear and sterile way.

That is where synthetic sound becomes more than an effect. If it helps the driver understand acceleration, grip and driving mode, it becomes part of the interface. It does the job engine noise used to do in an old M3, but by different technical means.

BMW’s own HypersonX sound architecture shows the company does not treat sound as mere noise. Developed for Neue Klasse, the system uses 43 sound signals created by the BMW Group Sound Design Studio, with separate driving sounds for Personal and Sport modes. BMW says the sound spectrum adapts to the driving situation and is intended to create an emotional connection between the driver and the car.

Neue Klasse M gets four motors and an 800V architecture

Sound is not the only major change. BMW M has officially confirmed that its next-generation all-electric M models will use BMW M eDrive, with one electric motor for each wheel. The system is managed by M Dynamic Performance Control and BMW’s “Heart of Joy” dynamics electronics.

That allows power to be distributed individually between all four wheels. BMW says the front axle can also be fully disconnected to preserve the feel of a rear-wheel-drive M car and improve efficiency.

For M, this is a bigger shift than the move from naturally aspirated straight-sixes to turbocharging, or from V8s to the modern S58 straight-six. A four-motor layout gives BMW a level of torque control that a mechanical differential cannot offer. At the same time, part of the old ritual disappears: gear, revs, clutch, rising power and the natural build-up of sound.

BMW also promises a high-voltage battery with more than 100kWh of usable capacity, an 800V electrical system, higher charging power and cooling adapted for high-performance use. The first all-electric BMW M models are due to reach the market from 2027.

Electric BMW M will simulate gearshifts

BMW M is not stopping at sound. According to official press information, future all-electric M models will also use simulated gearshifts and dedicated driving modes. This does not mean a conventional gearbox. Instead, the software makes acceleration, torque delivery and sound more stepped, giving the driver a more familiar sense of progression.

To a purist, that may sound like sacrilege. On track or on a low-grip surface, it can also make practical sense. If a very powerful electric powertrain delivers too much torque within a tiny pedal movement, the car becomes harder to meter precisely. A simulated shift strategy can divide the power delivery into more readable steps and make driving at the limit easier to judge.

CarExpert reports BMW M development boss Philipp Brunn explaining the logic in exactly those terms: in low-grip conditions, a simulated ratio strategy can make power easier for the driver to control.

That is where the “fake gearshift” becomes interesting. A bad version would be a game-console gimmick. A good version would be a tool that helps the driver use an electric powertrain approaching 1000hp more precisely.

Hyundai Ioniq 5 N has shown that playfulness can work

BMW is not entering an empty field. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N has already shown that an electric car can use simulated gearshifts and artificial sound without automatically becoming ridiculous. According to Hyundai’s official figures, the Ioniq 5 N produces up to 478kW in N Grin Boost mode, accelerates from 0-100km/h in 3.4sec and uses N e-Shift and N Active Sound+ to make the electric powertrain more playful and involving.

BMW has to solve the same idea in a different tone. Hyundai can afford a more youthful sense of excess, because the Ioniq 5 N was created partly to prove that electric cars can be fun. BMW M carries a heavier legacy. For many drivers, the M3 name means not only speed, but precision, readable revs, chassis balance and the feeling that the car is speaking to the driver without a filter.

That is why BMW’s sound cannot feel like a joke. It has to feel like part of the dynamics.

Porsche shows another route

The Porsche Taycan uses Electric Sport Sound with a different philosophy. Porsche does not try to make the Taycan sound like a 911. It amplifies the car’s own electric sound, both inside and outside. The company describes the system as a more emotional expression of Porsche-specific sound design, not as a copy of an old combustion engine.

That gives BMW a useful reference point. If Porsche builds a clean acoustic signature around electric performance, and Hyundai knowingly plays with digital theatre, BMW M has to find its own line between the two. Too quiet, and the car may leave M customers cold. Too fake, and it loses credibility.

The right BMW solution should make the driver stop thinking “this is coming from speakers”. Pedal, steering, brake, body movement, sound and acceleration should all move in the same rhythm.

The biggest risk is not synthetic sound, but dishonesty

The sound of an electric M car is not a problem in itself. The problem starts when the car lies. If the speakers play a copy of an old V10 while the acceleration, pedal feel and power delivery do not support it, the result becomes a cheap costume.

If the sound grows with load, speed and the use of traction, it can become an organic part of a new M car.

BMW’s strategy currently sounds like it is heading in the right direction. The M4 GTS, M3 GTS and M6 V10 are not being used as nostalgic wallpaper, but as raw material for the acoustic grammar of a new M era. The sharpness of the straight-six, the mechanical richness of the V8 and the higher drama of the V10 provide starting points, but the finished car has to sound like an electric M, not a museum exhibit.

That is the real question behind the project. An electric M does not need to prove that it is an old M3. It needs to prove that M can remain driver-centric after the engine, gearbox and exhaust have disappeared.

The stakes are especially high in Europe

In Europe, performance cars are becoming more expensive, heavier and quieter because of regulation. At the same time, performance is moving into electric cars, where 0-100km/h in less than four seconds is no longer astonishing on its own. If every electric performance model accelerates brutally, the difference will come from the experience: steering feel, brake modulation, readable grip, software precision and sound.

BMW M has to defend more than one model here. It has to defend the idea that a driver’s car is not merely a by-product of the internal-combustion engine.

If the four-motor Neue Klasse M gives the driver more information, not just more power, the first all-electric BMW M could become a new beginning for the brand rather than a compromise.

If it fails, it will simply be a fast, expensive and technically impressive electric car that M fans never fully accept.