BMW’s Neue Klasse family gets its third member this spring, and the range topper skips the soft launch. The iX4 M60 xDrive pairs the coupe silhouette of the old X4 with a dual-motor drivetrain rated at 603 horsepower, wrapped in matte Frozen Pure Red. It’s the third model built on the new architecture, after the iX3 and the i3 sedan, and it takes the performance brief furthest so far.
It’s the M Performance flagship of the first iX4 line, built beside the iX3 at Debrecen in Hungary. Orders open in January 2027, production follows in March, and BMW hasn’t named a price yet. The 40 and 50 xDrive cars launch first, in March.
A Coupe Silhouette Drawn Tight
Start with the profile, because the profile is the argument.
Numbers support the look. A long wheelbase and short overhangs set the stance: 188.3 inches long, 114.1 between the axles, 74.6 wide, 62.8 tall, and a 0.23 drag coefficient through the air.
The face reaches back to the Vision Neue Klasse concept we covered when this design language first surfaced: a tall, narrow kidney grille framed by slim light elements, the whole panel reading as one dark graphic stretched across the nose. The surfacing stays calm beneath the graphics, the glasshouse tapers early, and the rear haunches carry the width, so the car reads rear-driven before it moves an inch.
On the M60, the Iconic Glow package comes standard, tracing the grille contour in light and adding lit elements around the rear. Yellow daytime running lights, lifted from GT racing and the M Hybrid V8, sit on the options list. The grille itself is a closed panel now, its surface carrying light instead of slats.
Frozen Pure Red is a BMW Individual matte finish, and it joins the range in March 2027 alongside Frozen Ocean Wave Blue and Frozen Space Silver. Nine gloss finishes are on the list from launch, among them Eucalyptus Green and Fire Red, with the wider BMW Individual catalogue to follow. A panoramic roof with climate comfort glazing is standard across the line.
The Cabin Looks Through the Windshield
Inside, the dashboard steps aside. Panoramic Vision projects speed, navigation and media along the full width of the windshield base, in the driver’s eyeline.
A free-cut 17.9-inch central display handles the rest, angled toward the driver and running Operating System X. An optional 3D head-up display layers its graphics over the projection for anyone who wants both. My Modes reshapes the displays to the drive, and the M60 gets M-specific readouts of its own, including a Powermeter where a rev counter would normally sit.
The M steering wheel belongs to this model alone: red marker at twelve o’clock, M-color stitching, shift paddles and dedicated buttons for Boost Mode and M Mode. It’s the one control in the cabin that asks to be used hard. It feels special before the car even moves.
M Sport seats are available with an illuminated M logo in the backrest, massage and full electric adjustment. The standard interior pairs Veganza upholstery with M PerformTex, and a 13-speaker Harman Kardon system with 430 watts is standard on the M60.
Space survives the roofline: 17.3 cubic feet behind the seats, 56.5 folded, 2.0 more in the frunk.
603 Horsepower, Sorted by Software
Two motors, one at each axle, deliver 603 horsepower and 645 lb-ft of torque through M-specific all-wheel drive. BMW’s preliminary figures put the sprint to 60 mph at 3.7 seconds, with top speed limited to 149 mph. A Boost Mode, fired from the M steering wheel, sharpens the response further.
Chassis hardware backs the output. Adaptive M suspension with electronically controlled dampers is standard and brings variable-ratio sport steering with it, while an electronically controlled M Sport differential meters torque across the rear axle.
Braking falls to M Sport brakes with red calipers, blue available for anyone who prefers restraint. Standard wheels measure 21 inches; the 22-inch M aerodynamic design is the upgrade.
One computer, called Heart of Joy, runs drivetrain and chassis together, processing inputs ten times faster than the hardware it replaces. It also governs the recuperative braking, strong enough to bring the car to a stop on its own, with a Soft Stop function smoothing the final few feet. The battery sits low and central in the floor, which keeps the weight balance near 50:50.
The 108.7 kWh battery uses BMW’s sixth-generation cylindrical cells, packed directly into the structure on an 800-volt architecture. BMW rates range at up to 483 miles on the WLTP cycle. EPA figures are still to come, and BMW labels every number provisional. The cylindrical cells carry 20 percent more energy density than the generation they replace.
Charging peaks at 400 kW. A 10 to 80 percent charge takes about 21 minutes, and ten minutes on a fast charger adds up to 224 miles. Optional adapters let the car power tools at a site or feed a home during an outage, through vehicle-to-load and vehicle-to-home functions.
An optional tow hitch is rated at 4,400 pounds, which says something about how BMW expects this coupe to be used.
The Rear End Finishes the Argument
Come back around the car and the details tighten. A standard tailgate spoiler flows off the rear window with the third brake light built in, and the M60 adds its own rear spoiler above it.
The rear lights run as slim horizontal elements with an L-shaped signature, drawn more minimally on the M60 than on the standard car. Between them sits the rear badge in a black finish with a silver border, above a black diffuser that stays clean of any exhaust trim, and there is no chrome strip or joining light bar. There’s no chrome strip and no joining light bar. The restraint is the design.
Black mirror caps carry M-color accents, and the door sills wear M tread plates. None of it shouts. Walk around the car twice and the small pieces start to register as a set.
Editor’s take. BMW got the order right here: silhouette first, M hardware second, spec sheet third.
The M money went to the suspension, the differential and the brakes rather than to a bigger number on the badge, and the design stayed clean enough to sell the car on a photograph. If the range holds anywhere near that 483-mile WLTP figure once the EPA weighs in, the M60 becomes the Neue Klasse model for buyers who walked straight past the iX3.