BMW just dropped the first M Performance model from its Neue Klasse electric lineup, and the iX3 M60 hits with numbers that blur the line between warm-up act and main event. With 603 hp, 645 lb-ft of torque, and a 3.9-second sprint to 62 mph, this electric crossover occupies territory that used to belong exclusively to full-fat M cars.
That’s 140 hp more than the iX3 50 xDrive, and a full second quicker to highway speed. Top speed climbs from 130 mph to 149 mph. For an SUV wearing the M60 badge rather than the M badge, those are borderline uncomfortable numbers for what comes next.
The dual-motor, all-wheel-drive setup puts one electric motor on each axle, fed by a 108.7-kWh usable battery pack (112.2 kWh in U.S. spec). BMW claims up to 468 miles of range on the WLTP cycle, which will translate to less in EPA testing but still suggests this is not a range-compromised performance toy. Plug into a 400 kW charger and you add 211 miles in ten minutes.
The iX3 50 xDrive still stretches further, up to 500 miles WLTP, but the M60’s efficiency relative to its output is a Neue Klasse calling card.
BMW engineers fitted a newly developed stator and a beefier 420-amp inverter, up from 300 amps, to lift both peak and sustained power. There are dedicated M Sport and M Sport Plus driving modes, plus a Boost button on the steering wheel for the moments when you want everything the motors can deliver, immediately.
Visually, the iX3 M60 wears its intentions on its face. The M Yellow Lights, borrowed from BMW’s M Hybrid V8 race car, are the most obvious tell. The illuminated kidney grille gets three M-inspired light elements per side and a glowing M logo.
Black high-gloss roof rails, M mirror caps with the tricolor stripe, a rear spoiler with dual aero blades, and a black diffuser round out the exterior changes. Standard wheels are 21 inches, with 22-inch M aerodynamic wheels available only on the M60.
Inside, it reads like an M parts catalog brought to life. M Sport seats, M seat belts, an M steering wheel with a red 12 o’clock marker, and illuminated M logos in the front headrests. Twenty-five special-request body colors will be available at launch, which tells you exactly which buyer BMW is courting.
Production starts next spring at BMW’s Debrecen plant in Hungary. Orders open in late January. No pricing yet, but when the iX3 50 xDrive with the M Professional Package already starts at $66,850 in the U.S. and €77,400 in Germany, the M60 will land well north of those figures.
The real tension sits in what this car implies about the actual X3 M, expected by late next year with a quad-motor setup pulled from the recently teased electric M3. If the not-quite-M model already delivers 603 hp, the full M car will almost certainly push past 800. That would give BMW an X3 with supercar power, something that would have sounded absurd five years ago.
For now, the iX3 M60 is technically the placeholder. But 603 hp and a sub-four-second sprint in a midsize crossover could easily satisfy most buyers before the headliner ever arrives. BMW’s problem might not be convincing people to wait for the X3 M. It might be convincing them they need it at all.
Share this Story