BMW’s New M350 xDrive Brings 443hp and a Drift Moment Feature

• BMW has confirmed the new 3 Series will keep a petrol option alongside the electric i3, topped by a 443hp M350 xDrive scheduled to enter production in the second half of 2026.
• A new party trick called Drift Moment sends all engine power to the rear wheels at the press of a button, and BMW plans to unlock it on cars already sold via a software update.
• Prototypes have just finished testing at BMW’s Miramas track in southern France after runs on ice at Arjeplog and laps of the Nurburgring.

Petrol power gets a reprieve, and a party trick

BMW is not ready to let the combustion-engined 3 Series go quietly. Alongside the fully electric i3, which had its design reveal in March 2026, BMW will keep selling 3 Series models with four- and six-cylinder engines, both running 48V mild hybrid systems for a modest efficiency boost. The range-topper is the M350 xDrive, and it comes with a feature nobody buying a family saloon usually expects: a dedicated drift mode.

BMW calls it Drift Moment. Activated through the car’s central display, it sends the engine’s full output to the rear wheels only, working with the M Sport differential and a mode that switches off the stability control’s intervention. BMW plans to introduce it in 2027, and says it will arrive on cars already in customers’ driveways through a remote software update rather than only new orders.

What the six-cylinder actually delivers

The M350 xDrive is the only variant of the new 3 Series with a six-cylinder engine, a 3.0-litre BMW TwinPower Turbo inline unit producing 326kW (443hp) and 580Nm of torque. Paired with an eight-speed Steptronic gearbox and BMW’s xDrive all-wheel-drive system, it covers 0-62mph in 4.1 seconds and reaches a limited top speed of 155mph. Production starts in the second half of 2026, which puts a realistic UK arrival within the following year once right-hand-drive testing and homologation are done.

Four-cylinder versions sit below the M350 in the range, sharing the same 48V mild hybrid architecture without the six-cylinder engine or the standard xDrive drivetrain. BMW has not released fuel economy or CO2 figures for any version, saying the numbers are not final while the cars tested remain development prototypes wearing camouflage wrap.

A chassis built around Nurburgring and ice testing

The new 3 Series carries a double-joint spring strut front axle and a five-link rear axle, with a longer wheelbase and wider front and rear tracks than the outgoing car. BMW has fitted new lift-related dampers as standard, with adaptive suspension and adaptive M suspension available as options. For the first time, buyers can specify sports tyres in 245/35 R20 front and 275/30 R20 rear sizes.

Dr Mihiar Ayoubi, BMW’s senior vice president for driving experience development, said: “The BMW 3 Series has set standards for driving dynamics for several decades now, and thus serves as a symbol of Sheer Driving Pleasure. With the new generation, we are building on this strength once again through the perfect interplay of chassis hardware and a continuously optimised and intelligent BMW Driving Stack.”

That testing programme has taken the car from BMW’s winter facility at Arjeplog in Arctic Sweden, where engineers work on frozen lakes and snow-packed handling courses, to laps of the Nurburgring, before finishing at the Miramas proving ground in southern France. Miramas gives engineers a high-speed oval alongside handling circuits and a mix of road surfaces, letting them fine-tune ride and handling before the car goes into production.

Where it sits against rivals

The 3 Series has spent decades as the benchmark compact executive saloon, fighting the Audi A4, Mercedes C-Class, Genesis G70 and Alfa Romeo Giulia for buyers who want a smaller, sportier alternative to an SUV. Running a petrol six-cylinder alongside a pure electric sibling under the same model name is a hedge few rivals are attempting at this scale, and it lets BMW keep selling to drivers who tow, cover big motorway mileages or simply prefer the noise and response of a combustion engine.

BMW has not confirmed UK pricing or trim structure for the new 3 Series, and none is expected before the car nears its on-sale date. Given the outgoing model’s range starts in the mid-£30,000s and climbs past £50,000 for M Performance variants, a fully loaded M350 xDrive with the Drift Moment option is likely to sit at the top of that scale once order books open.