BMW's electric revolution hits the home stretch: iX3 prototypes promise 800 km range

In the blazing heat of southern France, a fleet of camouflaged BMW iX3 prototypes offers a glimpse into the future of electric mobility. These aren’t just test vehicles - they’re rolling showcases for technology that could transform how we interact with cars. While engineers are putting the finishing touches to BMW's inaugural "Neue Klasse" model ahead of its September unveiling at IAA Mobility 2025, details emerging from Miramas paint a picture of an electric vehicle that thinks faster, charges smarter and provides drivers with digital intuition.

The numbers alone are impressive: 800 kilometres of WLTP range from new cylindrical battery cells, 400 kW charging that adds 350 kilometres in just 10 minutes, and an 800 V architecture that ensures the technology is future-proof. However, the real magic lies in the way this SUV interacts with its driver. Picture approaching your garage and seeing the charging flap open in anticipation, as if greeting its owner. Or picture glancing at a windshield that transforms into a panoramic command centre, projecting navigation cues across its entire span. This is BMW's panoramic iDrive - a system designed to keep your eyes on the road, with steering wheel buttons that illuminate only when needed and haptic feedback that is perfectly tuned.

At its silicon core, the iX3 runs on what BMW calls the 'Heart of Joy' - a supercomputer that processes data ten times faster than current systems. This enables impressive feats such as 'cooperative braking', where the car seamlessly blends AI and human pedal inputs. This confidence stems from thousands of test kilometres, during which engineers have fine-tuned the system's ability to recuperate energy so effectively that 98% of stops won't require physical brake pads.

Yet, despite all its technological brilliance, the iX3 may be at its best as a mobile power plant. Its bidirectional charging capability effectively transforms the SUV into a backup battery for homes (Vehicle-to-Home) or even the grid (Vehicle-to-Grid), and is supported by a new 19.2 kW BMW Wallbox.

As these prototypes complete their final test kilometres, they carry the weight of BMW's heritage. While the original Neue Klasse from the 1960s saved the company, this 21^(st)-century electric reinterpretation aims to propel BMW past Tesla and its other German rivals.