Munich’s concept revealed to chime in with strongest bid to win classic motor race it last won in 1999.

WINNING the 2026 Le Mans 24 Hours was seconds out of reach for BMW today, but can it take solace in the reception meted a concept it showed just before the world’s greatest sports car race began?

The big question hanging over the M Concept Neue Klasse is this: How closely representative is it of the actual new electric M3 BMW will unleash next year?

BMW isn't answering any specifics on that front just yet.

But you can clearly see the production i3 electric sedan that has already unveiled, and is in New Zealand next year, beneath the extended wheelarches and the hulking aero package that nods the head towards the BMW M Hybrid 'Hypercar' racers taking part in Le Mans, the best finishing just 10.8 seconds behind the winning Toyota.

The beefed up styling is to be a 'signature feature' of all upcoming M models, Including that bonnet vent? It’s apparently it's not just for show, even though there's no engine under there.

As well as being something of a visual nod to the original BMW M1 supercar, the vent contributes to the cooling of the battery and the electric powertrain, as do the deep inlets in the 'trimaran' front bumper.

There's lots of carbon-fibre, of course, and a distinct kick-up boot spoiler that has a touch of 1970s’ 3.0 CSL Batmobile in its style.

The cabin appears to be all but production-spec, with the Panoramic View Display spanning the width of the windscreen and the big, angled touchscreen in the centre of the dash, just as in the regular i3.

M updates include deep bucket seats for each cabin occupant - just four up, with no middle seat) - each here with a four-point harness instead of a normal seatbelt. There are also M drive mode buttons on the steering wheel and a bright red gear selector.

Behind the wheel, there are chunky 'gearshift paddles’. Likely to be regenerative braking paddles though it could be that BMW is copying Hyundai’s N path giving the M3 simulated gearshifts.

In respect to power and torque? BMW's still being a bit coy on that front, but the expectation is that the electric M3 will have as much as 745kW - that’s 1000bhp in old-school talk - with four electric motors, one individually mounted in each wheel.

That in-wheel motor layout, known as M e-Drive, will allow BMW's complex four-core 'Heart Of Joy' vehicle controls computer to perform all sorts of stunning feats, including turning the electric M3 into something of a drift machine.

BMW claims that much of the new M3's electric tech has been influenced by the brand's hybrid-engined Le Mans racing efforts.

Range is another grey area. It’s assumed the M3 will have the same 108kWh battery as the long-range standard i3, for which 900km seems p[ossible. Take a couple of hundred off for M-application?

If you’ll all sad about the prospect of an electric M3 … well, calm down.

The existing M3 will remain in production, though it will be rebodied with an i3-lookalike shell and will keep the existing 3.0-litre turbo straight-six engine, albeit with some hybrid add-ons to keep it emissions-compliant.