{"id":29437,"date":"2022-08-17T12:03:55","date_gmt":"2022-08-17T16:03:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=29437"},"modified":"2022-08-17T12:03:55","modified_gmt":"2022-08-17T16:03:55","slug":"bmw-m-i4-four-motor-testing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=29437","title":{"rendered":"BMW M starts testing four-motor electric prototype"},"content":{"rendered":"

BMW’s<\/a> portfolio includes several M-badged electric cars<\/a>, like the iX M60<\/a>, but every full-blown M model released to date has been piston-powered. That’s set to change in the coming years: BMW M<\/a> has started testing a battery-powered, i4-based prototype with four motors.<\/p>\n

The test mule is an evolution of the i4 M50<\/a> sedan with punched-out wheel arch flares and front-end parts borrowed from the M3\/M4 duo<\/a>. While that’s an interesting proposition on its own, it’s what’s under the body that counts: power comes from four electric motors (one per wheel) that deliver through-the-road all-wheel-drive. BMW M hasn’t released details like horsepower, weight, and driving range, however.<\/p>\n

BMW notes that assigning each wheel its own motor unlocks several benefits including precise, variable, and quick torque distribution. In theory, the prototype can be front-, rear-, left-, or right-wheel-drive. The motors are linked to a central control unit that monitors a number of parameters, like road conditions and the driving style, and distributes torque accordingly. It can make changes in mere milliseconds.<\/p>\n

There’s no word yet on what the future holds for this wide-bodied i4<\/a>. BMW explains that it’s testing the prototype in real-world conditions to gather data about the powertrain and fine tune it, but it hasn’t announced plans to bring the model to series production.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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