The BMW i4 Is Nothing More than an Electric 4 Series

The BMW i4 Is Nothing More than an Electric 4 Series

Two roads diverged in a wood and BMW took ’em both. One is the mission statement EV, a bespoke-platform one-off signaling a categoric shift in the brand’s direction. The other is business as usual, an established platform with an established design, electric propulsion its only distinguishing factor. The former is the BMW iX. This is the latter, the i4 M50. The BMW i4 Is Nothing More than an Electric 4 Series

There’s no mystery concerning which philosophy is generally the most compelling. EVs require compromises, extra financial outlay, and recalibrations to the owner’s thinking. Selling a gas car, but electric, fails to generate the excitement necessary to overcome those hurdles. Mach-Es and Taycans and Teslas and the iX throw out the script, and they’re better for it. This time, BMW argues, it’s different. The BMW i4 Is Nothing More than an Electric 4 Series

This is the first time, the engineers and product team are proud to point out, that an M badge is appearing on an electric vehicle. The “Ultimate Electric Driving Machine,” they say. Just don’t mistake it for a true M car. Those familiar with BMW nomenclature know that if a two-digit number comes after the M, it’s an in-between step. The BMW i4 Is Nothing More than an Electric 4 Series

That places the i4 M50 alongside the M440i Gran Coupe, not the M4. Crucially, it also gives BMW wiggle room. Because despite the tricolor badging, the i4 is not designed to handle the racetrack. Bring up that point and everyone at BMW becomes more than willing to point out that the i4 M50 is not a real M car.

So be it, but it still goes like one. The M50 develops 536 horsepower. More staggering is the torque: 586 lb-ft. Stationary to 60 is a sub-four-second affair. Few gas cars can match its eagerness, the torque available from zero and stretching into triple-digit speeds on the autobahn. Traffic held the car back before the limiter could, but with an open road ahead it’s good for 139 mph. Spaceship noises direct from Hans Zimmer accompany the rush, a gimmick I had dismissed as absurd right up until I heard the light-speed woosh.

So The BMW i4 Is Nothing More than an Electric 4 Series