- The new BMW M3 with a combustion engine is undergoing testing at the Nürburgring.
- Codenamed G84, the sports sedan will retain its twin-turbo, 3.0-litre inline-six engine.
- BMW has ruled out a plug-in hybrid setup, but a mild hybrid is a possibility.
- Don’t expect to see it before 2028.
It’s easy to forget that BMW is developing another gasoline-powered M3, while most of the conversation revolves around the electric model. But make no mistake: Another six-cylinder sports sedan is on the way. Fresh footage captured at the Nurburgring carspotter zeroen This gives us our best look yet at the successor to the current-generation M3. We’ll likely be seeing a lot more of these camouflaged prototypes, as the car isn’t expected to break cover until 2028 at the earliest.
Some details shared by BMW suggest that the new M3 will definitely not be a plug-in hybrid like its bigger brother, the M5. However, according to Neue Klasse chief Mike Reichelt, it will use a “new type of six-cylinder engine”. Some have speculated about radical changes to the V6, which Munich never put into a production car, even though prototypes were built in secret. However, M CEO Frank van Meel has made it clear that the inline-six is here to stay.
BMW will likely further refine the twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre engine beyond the new pre-chamber ignition technology recently introduced in Europe. Rumor has it that the next M3 may adopt a mild-hybrid setup to meet increasingly stringent emissions regulations. Although it’s impossible to tell from the spy video, the “G84” may be offered exclusively with all-wheel drive and an automatic transmission.
This is a full M car
The test car’s flared fenders hint that this is a full-fat M3 rather than the M Performance model BMW mistakenly listed as the M350 on its website for the 2027 model year. Predictably, it doesn’t look as wild as the M Concept New Class (pictured below) Since it will not inherit the extreme aerodynamic package.
Although the M Concept New Class technically previewed next year’s electric M3, BMW has already said that future models will look almost identical, no matter what powers them. As a result, the new i3 sedan offers the perfect preview of the gasoline-powered 3 Series debuting in the coming months. In detail, the electric and combustion-powered M3 should look exactly the same inside and out.
You can tell this hidden prototype is still a work in progress by its makeshift headlights and taillights. Whether the M Concept New Class’s chunky ducktail spoiler is hidden beneath the camouflage is unclear, but some of the concept’s design cues will certainly carry over to the production M3. In fact, BMW has already confirmed that double-yellow headlights and stacked, cube-shaped lights on the bumper will appear on all future M models.
Photos: BMW
2026 BMW M Concept New Class
