For the 50th anniversary of the BMW M, the Munich brand is preparing a iM2 fully electric capable of producing 1000 kW of maximum power, equivalent to 1360 hp.
At least that's what the British from CAR Magazine say, who also reveal that this project is known internally as “Katharina” and that this model will be based on the most radical of the M2, the BMW M2 CS.
About a month ago we had access to a set of spy photos — which illustrate this article — of a prototype BMW M2 without exhaust outlets in the usual winter tests in Sweden. We immediately raised the possibility that it could be an electric M2 future, and now, with these latest rumors from CAR Magazine, it seems to start to make a little more sense.
To guarantee all this “firepower”, BMW will be considering installing four electric motors in this iM2, one per wheel, taking the possibilities of torque vectorization to new heights.
If this power is confirmed and according to internal BMW sources cited by that British publication, the acceleration exercise from 0 to 100 km/h will be done between 2.0s and 2.5s.
These are impressive numbers that, according to CAR Magazine, will have already allowed this iM2 — still known as the Katharina Project — to cover more than 20 kilometers of the Nürburgring-Nordschleife in less than seven minutes.
CAR Magazine reports that this project has not yet received the green light for production, but reveals more details, citing an internal source at BMW involved in the development of the drive system: the iM2 will not have rear seats and will have several elements in carbon fiber, among they the roof; the wheels will be special and made of a very light alloy; also the glasses will be thinner than usual, to “save” as many pounds as possible.
BMW has already reacted to rumors
At the invitation of the Germans from Auto Motor und Sport, BMW has already reacted to the information about the BMW iM2 and classifies it as “pure speculation”.
The aforementioned German publication also reveals that internally, at BMW, it is said that if an electric sports car were to be in the pipeline, it would certainly not be with 1000 kW of power, much less to arrive in 2022.
Right now, BMW M will launch electrified models and in 2019 it even anticipated a prototype of what could be a hybrid sports plug-in for its future, the BMW Vision M Concept with 600 hp.
What follows?
That electricity will reach the BMW M, no one has any doubts, but it may not be through an iM2 with more than 1300 hp. An M version of the BMW i4 — called iM4 — with a power of around 600 hp is, at the moment, the most likely “bet”.
In 2022 we will also get to know the new generation of the BMW M2, built on the CLAR platform, which also allows 100% electric engines and all-wheel drive proposals. According to current rumors, this next M2 should keep the recipe of the current one: six cylinders in line, rear-wheel drive and… manual gearbox (automatic gearbox will also be available, of course).