The G80 era ends. Two very different M3s take its place — and together they might be the most important (and most controversial) M cars ever built.
Let’s get the hard part out of the way first: the manual is dead. Not “probably going away.” Not “unlikely to return.” Dead. BMW M CEO confirmed it — there will be no clutch pedal in the next M3, full stop, in either of its two forms. Take a moment if you need it.
Okay. Now let’s talk about what we’re actually getting, because once you get past the grief, this story gets genuinely exciting.
Two M3s. At the Same Time. For the First Time.
BMW is doing something it has never done before: building two completely different M3s simultaneously. One electric. One combustion. Both coming in quick succession, both targeting a slightly different kind of M3 buyer — and between them, redefining what the nameplate even means.
Here’s the timeline:
ZA0 — the electric M3 — enters production in March 2027. This is the Neue Klasse car. Clean-sheet platform, purpose-built EV architecture, and a drivetrain that reads more like a racing spec sheet than a road car option list: four independent electric motors, one per wheel, each routed through its own gearbox. Estimated output sits between 800 and 900 horsepower. Not a typo. BMW has said the ZA0 will be “the most dynamic M ever” — and with torque vectoring at each individual corner, they might actually be able to back that up.
G84 — the mild-hybrid M3 — follows in July 2028. This one sits closer to what you know. It carries a 48V mild-hybrid version of the S58 engine, making approximately 525 horsepower. The hybrid assist doesn’t let you run on electricity alone — that’s not what it’s for. What it does is sharpen throttle response, reduce turbo lag, and help BMW hit Euro 7 emissions targets without gutting the character of the engine. Think of it as the S58 with a jump starter strapped to it. Whether that’s enough to satisfy the traditionalists is another question.
What You’re Losing
No manual. No rear-wheel-drive option for the G84. The ZA0 is xDrive by nature — four motors mean torque goes wherever the car decides it should. The G84’s mild-hybrid architecture all but guarantees the same. This is the part that will generate the most heat in the comments, and fairly so.
The manual M3 has been one of the few remaining handholds in a category drifting toward comfort and convenience. The G80 CS manual was a statement car precisely because it felt increasingly rare and deliberate. The next generation doesn’t carry that option forward at all, and BMW M has made clear they’re not revisiting the decision.
What You’re Gaining
An 800-900 horsepower M3 with torque vectoring at every wheel.
Let that land for a second.
The ZA0 isn’t just a faster M3 — it’s a structurally different kind of fast. Individual motor control per corner means the car can do things with traction and rotation that no mechanical differential can replicate. BMW says it will be more dynamic than any M before it. Given what individual torque vectoring has done for cars like the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT, there’s no reason to doubt them.
And the G84 matters too, for a different reason. It keeps a combustion M3 in the lineup as electric infrastructure continues to catch up. The S58 with mild-hybrid assist should still be a fantastic engine. If BMW gets the calibration right — and the M division’s track record here is good — the G84 could be the last great combustion M3, and that’s not a small thing to be.
The Bottom Line
For the first time in the model’s history, BMW is building two M3s at once. One is the most extreme performance car the M badge has ever been attached to. The other is a bridge — a way for enthusiasts who aren’t ready for an electric performance car to stay in the tent a little longer.
The manual is gone. That’s a real loss, and it deserves to be called one. But what’s replacing it — a near-900hp Neue Klasse machine with four-corner torque vectoring — is something that didn’t seem possible in an M3 two years ago.
The G80 era ends on a high note. What comes next is weirder, faster, and more divided than any generation before it.
We’ll be watching the Nürburgring very closely in early 2027.