The BMW i4 M50 is the first EV super-saloon

We won’t know the answer to that until we drive it but until then we can chew on the following: 544PS (400kW) from motors back and front. A whopping 795Nm (588lb ft) of torque. Zero to 62mph in 3.9 seconds. An M-specific chassis with rear-drive bias (and a switch to turn the driver aids off), M brakes, steering, seats and body kit, plus masses of gloss black details (of course) and a price when it arrives in November of £63,905. All M staples then but being electric you have to consider range too: that’s 316 miles with a fast-charge facility that can add 100 miles in 10 minutes.

Being all-electric, with its 80kWh batteries stashed away under the floor, this new breed of M car has other potential performance pluses too, like a low centre of gravity (34mm lower than a similarly sized 3 Series), low drag (the Cd is 0.24) and a 48-52 front-rear weight distribution. BMW makes a big deal about how lightweight the technology is, but is coy about its kerb weight (it’s bound to be heavier than an M3). Still, it’s all clearly something that BMW M GmbH felt it can work with to make a rival for the Porsche Taycan.

It doesn’t look like a Porsche rival. If you were expecting a wildly sporting machine, or even a wildly futuristic one like its i predecessors the i3 and i8, think again. This is a five-door sedan in BMW’s Gran Coupe style. You get conventional size, proportions and design, all of which will be shared by a forthcoming petrol-powered 4 Series Gran Coupe alongside which the electric version is made.

There are blue accents, like the big blue “tick” along the sills, to signal its electric underpinnings, but overall its familiar shape and details, such as chunky air inlets and BMW’s latest huge kidney grille, make it very much BMW first, electric car second. There’s even a substantial centre console dividing the cabin rather than the more open and flat floor of electric rivals.

The M50 (the dark blue car in the pictures) does however look more performance-minded than its i4 sibling, the i4 eDrive40. This is the only other model in the i4 family so far announced. It’s a single-motor, rear-wheel-drive model available in Sport and M Sport trims and priced from £51,905. Its motor delivers 340PS (254kW) for 0-62mph in 5.7 seconds and a top speed limited to 118mph, whereas the M50 can hit 140mph. BMW would like us to think of this entry model as the equivalent of the current six-pot diesel. It can’t match a diesel’s range but with up to 367 miles available it’s good for a battery car.

But it’s the M50 the drivers will surely go for. Of its twin motors, the rear one is the most potent, with 313PS (230kW) while the front one contributes 258PS (190kW). A boost mode allows them to deliver the combined 544PS but only in 10-second bursts, accompanied by a rorty soundtrack piped into the cabin. Fully variable all-wheel-drive torque distribution and clever stability electronics deliver the traction needed to get off the line and to 62mph in under 4.0 seconds, but in M tradition there is always a rear emphasis to the power delivery and in regular driving the front motor stays idle.

Over the lesser i4, the M50 gets wider tracks, more front-end negative camber, adaptive M Sport suspension with bespoke springs, dampers and anti-roll bars, plus additional bracing in the front end. Like all i4s, rear suspension is by air springs for automatic self-levelling. M Sport variable steering is fitted and the braking system is said to be a first for an electric car in offering consistent pedal feel, even when power recuperation is cranked up to the max. Wheels are aero-style 18s, double-spoke 19s or sportier 20-inchers. Will it drift? Should do, with an easily activated Dynamic Traction Control (DTC) mode and DSC off button.

Well, not so much button as touch pads and voice recognition. The cabin is touch-screen and digital throughout, although not it must be said at the expense of driver focus.

Combining the driver info display with the iDrive screen behind one large curved glass panel angled towards the driver makes for an impressive “wide screen” dashboard. Behind it all is BMW’s latest operating system loaded with connectivity and data processing power – plus systems to control the 40 assistance functions available, including a range of automated driving and parking options.

All handy, but ultimately not what an M car is all about. How well BMW M GmbH turns a battery-electric car into the ultimate driving machine is the key question.