BMW Officially Unveils All-New i3, a 469-HP Electric 3 Series With 440 Miles of Range

BMW officially unveiled its new 2027 i3 sedan today, the second car based on the Neue Klasse platform and bringing electric power to a body type that many drivers are already familiar with. The design team did an excellent job sculpting the front with the swoopy full-width light system, which integrates the grille area into a single smooth surface; wonderful work. The car’s modest overhangs and long wheelbase give it a well-balanced look.

The sides have flared arches and revised contours that pay homage to previous BMW models without exactly replicating them. The back lights stretch out horizontally to emphasize the breadth, and despite being electric, the car appears to have quite low-profile. The dimensions, 187.4 inches long, 73.4 inches wide, and 58.3 inches tall, with a wheelbase of 114.1 inches, greatly open up the room inside.

Let’s take a look inside, where we can see a dash that wraps around to the doors, giving it a pleasant open impression, and most variants have a rather large panoramic roof. There’s a 17.9-inch screen directed towards the driver, as well as a small monitor at the base of the windscreen and the option of a head-up display. The seats are made of a variety of materials that combine recycled fabrics with high-end features, and important functions, such as the parking brake, are kept simple with physical buttons.

Two electric motors handle the performance side of things, one on each axle, combining for a total output of 469 horsepower and 476 pound feet of torque. The rear motor uses an excited synchronous design that does most of the work, while the front motor runs an asynchronous unit to keep grip and efficiency in check when conditions call for it. The battery technology is where things get particularly interesting. Spherical cells are packed directly into the car’s structure without any additional modules around them, freeing up space and allowing the whole system to run on an 800 volt architecture for seriously quick charging. Early range estimates sit at up to 900 kilometers on the WLTP cycle, which translates to just under 440 miles by EPA standards, and BMW claims that a 400 kilowatt charger can add enough juice for 400 kilometers in just ten minutes.

Select trims with bidirectional charging allow the driver to transfer power back to their home or the grid. There is a special control unit dubbed Heart of Joy that analyzes signals around ten times faster than conventional systems, resulting in a lovely snappy reaction to your brakes and steering inputs. The suspension includes a five-link rear and adjustable dampers to keep the handling snappy on all types of roads.

Production begins at the Munich plant in August 2026, with the first deliveries scheduled for later this year. In the near future, BMW aims to produce various single-motor versions as well as greater output models. As a side note, future owners will also welcome the small storage room up front for the charging wire, as well as route planners that automatically account for the need to charge up. Drivers can save route planners that automatically select charging stops.