With BMW leaning into electrification and an iM3 trademark on the books, for a while it seemed like we were about to say goodbye to the BMW M3 as we know it. A nearly 40-year German performance stalwart, its traditional combustion engine abandoned for a bundle of batteries! But you needn’t worry any longer, as the CEO of BMW M just confirmed in a German interview that another generation of gas-burning M3 is coming—and with the superb S58 engine people have loved for years.
Frank van Meel dropped the detail in an interview with German outlet BimmerToday.de. For a time, it was anticipated that the Neue Klasse-based electric M3 (reportedly codenamed ZA0) would outright replace the ICE model. Van Meel expects the quad-motor EV to be quicker around a track than the fossil-fueled version, but the fact that the gas model will survive is good enough news in its own right.
As for that engine, van Meel said BMW is working to make the current model’s 3.0-liter, twin-turbo S58 inline-six compliant with next-generation Euro 7 emissions standards when they take effect in summer 2025. S58-powered cars comprise the meat of M sales, so van Meel reportedly said that this engine (and the cars it powers) won’t go away as long as BMW can keep turning a profit off of them. BMW Blog also reported van Meel confirming that the M3 will continue to offer a manual; however, this powertrain will emphatically not carry forward to a new generation of M4. The 4 Series itself is expected to drop its internal combustion engine, and the i4 will pick up where it leaves off.
Believed to enter production in the late 2020s, the next-gen M3 may be the last in what will become a more than four-decade legacy for one of Germany’s oldest performance nameplates. It would still be a surprise if BMW retained six cylinders in the M3 rather than downsizing to four, considering tighter Euro 8 emissions regulations waiting in the wings. The M3 got its start with the four-banger E30, so it wouldn’t be a sin for it to return to its roots. So long as it doesn’t weigh as much as the new M5, anyway.
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