First Look: 2022 BMW i4 M50 All-electric gran coupe
7The 536-HP All-Electric 2022 BMW i4 M50 Is Cheaper Than a New M3
BMW unveiled a host of details Tuesday on its duo of new all-electric cars, the i4 sedan and the iX crossover. Enthusiasts will be pleased to know the performance-oriented i4 M50 is shaping up to be a serious contender in the segment, with 536 horsepower on tap and a 0-62 time under four seconds. Best of all? It's cheaper than a base M3. The 2022 BMW i4, first revealed back in March 2021, will be available in two trims once it arrives in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2022. The aforementioned M50 is the more potent of the pair, with a motor on each axle for standard all-wheel drive, making for a combined torque output of 586 lb-ft. The cheaper model, dubbed the i4 eDrive40, makes do with just one motor out back, rated at 335 horsepower and 317 lb-ft of torque. Both cars get the same 83.9 kWh fifth-generation BMW battery pack, which the company claims has 40-percent more energy-dense cells versus the pack found in the i3 hatch. Range is estimated at 300 miles for the base car and 245 miles for the M50.
BMW says the i4 M50 will be able to sprint to 62 mph in just 3.9 seconds—just half a second off the M3 Competition with xDrive. The base car is no slouch either, able to hit the 62-mph mark in 5.7 seconds. Top speed is 118 mph for the base car, and 140 for the M50.
Straight-line performance in the i4 isn't the only thing BMW wants us to be impressed by. The floor-mounted battery pack is a stressed member of the chassis, connected directly to the floor and the front subframe. There's also a bracing package with strut tower bars to ensure the most rigidity possible. Both trims come standard with BMW's funky "lift-related" shock system that works to create linear damper force according to spring travel. There are air springs out back that self-levels depending on the car's load. M50 models get adaptive M suspension as standard, allowing the driver to adjust suspension stiffness to their preference on the fly.