BMW iX3 earns 612hp M60 flagship

M Performance BMWs are popular; BMW SUVs are popular - so an iX3 with yellow lights was only a matter of time...

By Matt Bird / Wednesday, 7 October 2026 / Loading comments

Fast BMW SUV history goes back quite some time now, all the way to the 4.6iS X5 of 2001. The X5 and X6M have been sold for more than 15 years across three generations; their success meant an X3 and X4M followed. Everything from X2 to X7 has enjoyed the M Performance treatment, before even considering the likes of the XM and iX. A performance version of the first Neue Klasse SUV was never going to take long, basically - it’s too crucial a niche.

So this is the BMW iX3 M60, the electric equivalent of the X3 M50 and an EV SUV that promises ‘hallmark M driving characteristics.’ It’s also the car that will give us some idea of what to expect with the upcoming i3 M60 saloon, given it’s cut from the same Neue Klasse cloth. But while the Gen6 eDrive technology, Heart of Joy and Panoramic iDrive have transformed the middle-order BMW offering, the overhaul for the M60 is pleasingly familiar. It’s a faster, firmer family SUV that looks a bit sportier than standard. Just as it is for M50, just as it was for M40i.

Alongside the yellow lights that will become a feature of the semi-skimmed M cars (see the iX5 and M350), there are chunkier arches for standard 21s (22s are optional), a more meaningful diffuser, black roof rails, black badges and aero-optimised mirrors - wouldn’t be an M car without those. The bottle green is part of a new colour palette for the M60 that includes 25 ‘special request’ finishes, with more to come. So there’s no excuse to get a boring black one, basically.

The interior overhaul is modest - there’s enough to get your head around in a Neue Klasse interior as it is. So the seats, the belts and the wheel are now M Sport spec (with the obligatory red marking at 12 o’clock). Plus there are some M-specific displays to show your friends once and forget about. Probably the most notable changes inside the M60 are the introduction of M Sport and M Sport Plus drive modes, said to open the door to ‘an even more customised, emotionally engaging and sporty driving experience.’

Which we’ll take with a pinch of salt, of course, though there is the hardware to support the claim. This isn’t just 600hp and some badges. The iX3 M60 gets Adaptive M suspension as standard with sport steering and a variable rack ratio; BMW is promising ‘remarkably fleet-footed, direct and precise handling, while drivers will notice even better steering feel.’ Welcome, given what’s been said about the standard, slightly detached iX3 steering. The M60 wouldn’t be an M car without a proper diff, either, so it comes with an electronically controlled M Sport unit on the rear axle, for ‘increasing the car’s dynamic handling capabilities.’ Which we’ll call little skids when nobody is looking.

There’s more bracing up front to better stiffness, front anti-roll bar links introduced to the benefit of steering once more, plus a unique spring and damper tune ‘to endow it with the exceptionally dynamic handling abilities characteristic of BMW M models.’ Credit where it’s due, this sounds like a meaningful overhaul from iX3 50 to M60.

Plus, of course, it’s ruddy fast. A new rear motor with a 420 A inverter instead of 300 A one is the significant news, with outputs rated at 612hp and 645lb ft - expect the same when the i3 comes. A longer ratio means a higher top speed, which will please autobahn fans, up from 124mph to 149mph. 62mph comes up in 3.9 seconds. There’ll be an M-specific sound, though there’s no mention of any Hans Zimmer involvement this time around. With the same 108.7kWh battery as an iX3 50, an M60 is claimed to do 468 miles and return up to 3.53mi/kWh. Good luck with those, as always.

The iX3 M60 xDrive has been launched alongside the first-ever iX4, which will mirror the 3 in terms of spec - with a 40 and 50 at launch, then the 60 to follow - and package it in another slightly strange SUV coupe shape. But as history has taught us, there really is no sating the appetite for BMW SUVs - especially the quick ones. Expect the flagship iX3 and those first iX4s on our roads in the spring of next year.