• BMW’s upcoming electric M3 just showed us it’ll still drift like a gas-powered M3.
• Disguised sedan carved two arcs of rubber exiting a corner at the Nurburgring.
• A 1,526 hp Xiaomi SU7 Ultra was turning up the heat a few car lengths back.
  

No matter how good the 2028 M3 EV is, it’s going to be missing some of the current (and next) gas car’s calling cards, including the signature quad tailpipe setup. But one thing that won’t change is the M3’s ability to lay down a couple of big curling lines of rubber on a corner exit.

We know this because our spy photo guys were positioned at just the right spot to see an electric M3 prototype push a little harder than normal while hot-lapping at the Nurburgring. Why was the driver pushing harder? The yellow sedan closing in from behind might have something to do with it.

Instead, the regular M3 EV is expected to generate far less power. The Hyundai Ioniq N makes 641 hp (650 PS), and no one who has driven one ever got out suggesting it could do with a bit more oomph. BMW will probably feel the need to move the needle, perhaps closer to 790 hp (800 PS). But still keep way below the four-figure outputs of EVs like the SU7 Ultra.

In a way, and I know this sounds perverse when we’re talking about a heavy EV, it’s like BMW is remembering what made the original M3 so much fun, and acknowledging that most EVs have got it wrong. The E30 wasn’t outrageously quick, even when new, but it was agile and felt real-world fast. And BMW’s M team wants the gas-free M3 to be, too.