In This ArticleBMW is reviving the i3 title for its first Neue Klasse sedan — a automobile that guarantees as much as 900 km of vary, 400 kW charging, and M-level efficiency. Right here’s why the 2026 BMW i3 might redefine what a sport sedan appears like within the electrical period.
The brand new i3, internally referred to as NA0, will arrive in 2026 and sit on BMW’s all-new Neue Klasse structure, the identical platform that debuts subsequent 12 months with the iX3 SUV. The title was confirmed by BMW CEO Oliver Zipse through the iX3’s world premiere in September, ending hypothesis about whether or not BMW would revive the i3 badge. And if the early particulars are any indication, this might be one in every of BMW’s most fun electrical automobiles but.
A Full Lineup — From a Rumored i3 20 to i3 M60
BMW isn’t launching only one i3. Count on a full lineup, beginning with the entry-level i3 20 and topping out with the i3 M60, which is able to act as a preview for the first electrical M3 (ZA0). Whereas official specs haven’t been launched, it’s affordable to count on the M60 to make use of a dual-motor setup producing round 620 to 630 horsepower. That determine matches proper in with as we speak’s i5 M60, i4 M60, and iX M60, all of which ship roughly 600 horsepower. Neue Klasse fashions ought to take issues barely greater — partly for bragging rights, but additionally to create area for the lesser variations just like the i3 40 and i3 50.
It’s a wise technique that mirrors how BMW has lengthy structured its combustion fashions.
Gen6 Tech: Extra Vary, Sooner Charging
Beneath all of it is BMW’s newest Gen6 battery and motor expertise, which guarantees massive positive factors in each vary and efficiency. Relying on the mannequin, the brand new i3 might journey as much as 900 kilometers (about 559 miles) on the WLTP cycle. That’s not wishful pondering — BMW’s new cells are 20 p.c extra energy-dense and 30 p.c quicker to cost than earlier than.
Talking of charging, the i3 will possible match the 400 kW price of the upcoming iX3. In real-world phrases, that’s roughly 372 km (231 miles) added in 10 minutes, or about 175 miles on the EPA cycle. Even the rumored sportier i3 M60, which is able to commerce some vary for efficiency, ought to be comfortably environment friendly because of lighter, extra compact drive items and higher thermal administration.
Design: A Fashionable Nod to the E30
In the event you’ve seen the Imaginative and prescient Neue Klasse Idea, you have already got a way of what’s coming — and spy images counsel BMW isn’t straying removed from it. The brand new i3 may have basic three-box proportions, a low stance, and an upright rear that immediately recollects the E30 3 Sequence. On the entrance, BMW is bringing again a shark-nose profile with smaller, illuminated kidney grilles and a contemporary tackle the dual-headlight design. Round again, the automobile adopts a skinny gentle bar that stretches throughout the trunk lid, flanked by slim taillights presumably built-in into the rear spoiler — similar to the idea automobile.
It’s clear, purposeful, and refreshingly BMW.
A Section with Room to Develop
It’s been nearly ten years for the reason that Tesla Mannequin 3 arrived (2017), and surprisingly, few true rivals have adopted. Other than the Polestar 2 and Hyundai Ioniq 6, the midsize electrical sedan market continues to be huge open. There’s a cause for that: margins. Automakers have centered on electrical SUVs and high-end fashions as a result of they’re simpler to promote at greater costs. Mid-range sedans just like the i3 are harder to make worthwhile, particularly below the $50,000 mark.
However that’s precisely what provides BMW a gap. The i3 might fill a niche that fans have been ready for — a driver’s EV that doesn’t really feel like a compromise.
Driving Really feel: The Coronary heart of Pleasure Lives On
Earlier this 12 months, I hung out behind the wheel of the iX3 prototype constructed on the identical Neue Klasse platform. Regardless of being a tall SUV, it was shockingly composed. The Coronary heart of Pleasure central laptop — BMW’s new system that coordinates energy supply, chassis management, and steering — made the automobile really feel extra alive than any EV I’ve pushed from the model up to now.
Now, think about that expertise in a lighter, decrease sedan. That’s the place the i3 is available in. It’s being designed not simply to be fast, however to really feel related, responsive, and enjoyable in the way in which that makes BMWs particular. I even like its codename: NA0, signaling the beginning of a brand new period for BMW.
The iX3 could be the household automobile I’d purchase with my head. However the i3? That’s the one I’d purchase with my coronary heart. No less than till the electrical M3 exhibits up.
