Revealed: 2027 BMW iX4 Is A Sleek AMG Killer, No M Required

Called a "Sports Activity Coupe" in company parlance, the X6 (and its X4 kid brother) is intended to combine the styling of a sleek two-door sports car with the seating position and practicality of an SUV. The idea has been a popular one for BMW, and now, it's entering the Neue Klasse era with the all-electric, 2027 iX4.

Based on the superb iX3 EV, the iX4 ditches its sibling's traditional roofline in favor of a more aggressive fastback shape that'll go well with the newly available M60 xDrive trim level – the first M Sport–badged EV from BMW.

The iX4 Is Built For Style And Speed

BMW's Neue Klasse vehicle architecture sits beneath the sleek iX4, including a pack-to-open-body platform that mates the modern Gen6 battery directly to the vehicle's unibody. This allows the iX4 to sit lower to the ground than it might otherwise, reducing the width of the floor so that occupants can still enjoy reasonable leg- and headroom despite the fast roofline.

Speaking of, the newest BMW EV looks a lot like the iX3 from the beltline down, with a front fascia that incorporates slash-shaped quad daytime running lights and a 1970s-inspired narrow kidney grille motif, as well as a chiseled hood with a scallop down the center that incorporates the traditional BMW roundel. But from the A-pillar back, the design is much more aggressive in the iX4 than the iX3, starting with a more steeply raked windshield that sweeps up to a roof that's 1.5 inches lower than that of the iX3 – 63.3 inches compared to 64.8.

As with the company's other Sports Activity Coupes, the roofline of the BMW iX4 peaks just above the front row before sloping down toward a relatively flat rear hatch and chiseled ducktail spoiler. The EV also receives a proper Hofmeister kink in its rear quarter glass, retaining a BMW design signature that's been diluted somewhat in cars like the 4 Series and X3. The rear of the SUV incorporates the same razor-thin taillights as the iX3 with a BMW badge sitting between them, although the surfacing around the roundel has been revised for coupe SUV duty.

The iX4 will also come standard with the M Sport styling package, which includes revised wheel designs and a more aggressive body kit – larger side skirts, a front bumper with a massive lower opening and gloss black trim, and a reshaped rear bumper with a faux diffuser in the middle. The more powerful M60 xDrive trim will also offer M Yellow daytime running lights, a feature borrowed from BMW's race cars.

Inside, don't expect too many changes relative to the iX3, although there is a standard full-length panoramic glass roof. The M Sport package does include a thicker-rimmed steering wheel (which still retains the unusual vertical-spoke design as the standard tiller), though a slightly more conventional wheel with 4- and 8-o'clock spokes is also offered.

The M60 model will also offer more aggressive M Sport bucket seats as an option, for those who want more aggressive bolstering. Otherwise, the story is much the same as it is on BMW's other recent debuts, with a Panoramic iDrive display at the base of the windshield and a 17.9-inch beveled touchscreen mounted on the dash.

How Far Will The iX4 Go On A Charge?

The new BMW EV features a 112.2-kilowatt-hour battery, marginally larger than the 108.7-kWh unit on the iX3. Despite the added usable capacity, however, the iX4 won't be able to go quite as far on a charge, perhaps due to the added weight of the standard glass roof and perhaps due to an unspecified aerodynamic compromise demanded by the styling.

Still, the coupe's 428-mile maximum range estimate is only down 6 miles on the iX3, and it's still one of the best in the entire EV industry. Better still, the iX4 retains the same high-voltage electrical system, which enables a DC fast charge rate of up to 400 kilowatts. That means the EV will be able to restore 184 miles of range in just 10 minutes. It will also match the iX3's 10-to-80-percent recharge time of 21 minutes, meaning at least 300 added miles in the time it takes to grab a snack, use the restroom, and check your Instagram DMs.

The iX4 Will Offer A New Flagship Performance Trim

Today's big news from BMW also pertains to a new flagship trim for both the iX3 and iX4, called the M60 xDrive. Like the 50 xDrive, the M60 will feature an electrically excited synchronous motor on the rear axle and an asynchronous unit up front, giving it all-wheel drive. But while the 50 trim produces 463 horsepower and 475 pound-feet, the M60 xDrive will bump those numbers up to 603 and 645, respectively, allowing the iX4 to accelerate to 60 miles per hour in 3.7 seconds per BMW's estimates – we'd be surprised if it weren't even quicker than that. The iX4 M60 xDrive will have a governed top speed of 149 mph.

The new trim will make the iX3 and iX4 the most powerful electric BMW offered in the US thus far, with combined output numbers that eclipse the automaker's entire pure-combustion lineup – the plug-in hybrid M5 and XM make 717 hp and 738 lb-ft, numbers that remain undefeated (for now). We expect the forthcoming, quad-motor electric M3 to blow all of its family members out of the water with four-digit power figures, but until then, the iX3 and iX4 M60 xDrive remain the company's electric power champions.

BMW's "Heart of Joy" brain controls all of the iX4's various powertrain, suspension, and electronic systems, with faster responses and higher processing power that enable some pretty sophisticated features. For example, the iX4 will offer BMW Highway Assistant hands-free driving, which will allow the driver to remove their hands from the wheel while still remaining attentive to the road ahead. Heart of Joy also offers BMW Symbiotic Drive, which can sense and work alongside driver inputs even when adaptive cruise control and lane centering technology are activated.

When Will The BMW iX4 Launch?

BMW said that its newest electric vehicle will arrive in March 2027, but only in base 50 xDrive form. The sportier M60 will show up "shortly afterwards." Pricing will start at $66,200 for the base iX4, a $3,700 more than the regular iX3 and $2,200 more than the iX3 M Sport. The automaker hasn't announced pricing for the M60 model – in either iX3 or iX4 form – but we would be surprised if it cost less than $75,000 to start.