This BMW M3 Fire Orange Is The One-Millionth M Car
BMW M3
BMW has built its one-millionth M car in Munich, but the M3’s future is about to take two very different paths. The electric ZA0 and gas G84 will be assembled at two different plants.
Article Summary
- The milestone marks the end of an era at Munich, with the electric ZA0 M3 set to follow the G80 while the gas-powered G84 is likely to move to Dingolfing.
- Coming in 2028, the next gas-powered M3 is rumored to be xDrive- and automatic-only, potentially ending the rear-wheel-drive/manual combination.
- The electric M3 is coming out first, with the reveal planned for sometime next year.
BMW has just built its one-millionth M vehicle, and the milestone car couldn’t be much more appropriate. It’s an M3, naturally, and it rolled off the assembly line at the historic plant in Munich. As if the car weren’t already special enough, this G80 comes in Fire Orange III, a special color from the Individual catalog.
BMW marked the occasion with an official ceremony at the factory, where Peter Weber, head of the Munich Plant, handed the milestone car over to the mayor of M Town himself: Frank van Meel. The one-millionth M car comes more than five decades after BMW Motorsport GmbH was founded and 40 years after the original M3 E30 went on sale.
Production of the G80 got going at BMW’s oldest factory in 2020. However, that relationship is about to change, at least where the powertrain is concerned. The luxury automaker is turning Munich into an electric-only factory, meaning the M3 ZA0 teased earlier today will be built there from 2027.
The Next BMW M3 With A Gas Engine Will Likely Be Made In Dingolfing
Meanwhile, BMW has already confirmed that the next-generation 3 Series with a combustion engine will be built at Plant Dingolfing. Production of the G50’s gasoline-powered variants, including the spicy M350 xDrive, is scheduled to begin there next month. That makes Dingolfing the obvious candidate for the next gas-powered M3 as well. BMW hasn’t officially announced where it will assemble the combustion-engined successor. Still, it would make plenty of sense for the upcoming inline-six-powered G84 to follow its lesser siblings there.
In other words, the one-millionth M3 coming from Munich is something of a farewell to the factory’s combustion-powered M3 era. The next electric M3 will keep the name alive at the historic plant, while the gas-powered version is likely to continue production elsewhere in Bavaria. But the G80’s story is not over yet, as production is expected to continue until later in 2027. The same goes for its more practical sibling, with the long-roof G81 sticking around a while longer.
The BMW M3 G84 Is Going (Mild) Hybrid
The gas-powered M3 is rumored to take a more restrictive approach to the drivetrain. According to our sources, the G84 could be xDrive- and automatic-only, meaning BMW may finally retire the rear-wheel-drive/manual combination that has long been a hallmark of the M3. BMW hasn’t confirmed those details yet, but current reports point to an evolution of the twin-turbo 3.0-liter S58 with mild-hybrid assistance, paired with an automatic transmission.
If you’re wondering which is the best-selling true M car, it’s actually not the M3. Last year, the M2 was #1. If we’re counting M Performance cars, the X3 M50 was the absolute leader. The M Lite crossover ended the three-year streak set by the i4 M50/M60. Counting both sides of the M coin, 2025 was the best year ever. Combined deliveries of M Performance and M cars climbed by 3.3% to 213,457 units.
Just so we’re clear, BMW’s one-millionth milestone refers strictly to actual M cars.
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