BMW is bringing two concept cars to their North American debuts during Monterey Car Week 2026, alongside a 40th-anniversary celebration of the M3. The all-electric BMW M Concept Neue Klasse and the Vision BMW ALPINA will appear across the week before sharing the Concept Lawn at the 75th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. A fourth chapter of the Kith for BMW collaboration rounds out the programme.
BMW has confirmed a four-day programme for Monterey Car Week 2026, running from Thursday 13 August to Sunday 16 August across the Monterey Peninsula. The centrepiece is the North American premiere of two concept cars, backed by an anniversary display for the M3 and a lifestyle collaboration event.
Two concepts make their North American debut
The BMW M Concept Neue Klasse, which had its world premiere at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, gets its North American showing on Thursday evening at the House of M. The all-electric study previews what BMW says is the future design language and high-performance technology of its M division. According to the company, M-specific programming for the Heart of Joy “superbrain” controller enables advanced control of a drive system using four electric motors.
The second car is the Vision BMW ALPINA, first shown at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. It premieres in North America on Friday at The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering, which runs from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with a press conference at the BMW ALPINA stand at 11:25 a.m. The design study pairs a coupe roofline, shark nose and restrained decorative lines with an interior of full-grain leather, fine metal surfaces and crystal controls. BMW describes it as carrying the ALPINA tradition of speed, comfort and refinement into a modern idiom.
BMW has not published technical specifications, power outputs or production plans for either concept.
Forty years of the M3
The week opens on Thursday at Legends of the Autobahn at Pacific Grove Golf Links, where a special exhibition marks four decades of the M3. Cars on display run from the original E30 M3 to the new 2027 BMW M3 CS Handschalter. The exhibition is open from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and admission is free.
The celebration moves to the track on Saturday at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Four generations of M3 racing cars — from the 1992 E30 M3 DTM to the 2011 E92 M3 GT — will be displayed and driven, with Mike Skeen, Bill Auberlen and Frank van Meel among the drivers. The M Concept Neue Klasse will also be presented at the Reunion.
Kith collaboration enters a fourth chapter
On Saturday evening, BMW hosts an invitation-only panel discussion with BMW design leadership and Ronnie Fieg, founder, CEO and Creative Director of Kith. The session will unveil bespoke cars and preview the 2026 Kith for BMW clothing and accessories collection, the fourth instalment of the partnership.
What it means
Monterey Car Week has become a fixture for manufacturers wanting to reach affluent buyers and collectors, and BMW is using it to work both ends of its range at once: an electric performance study pointing at where M goes next, and an ALPINA design exercise aimed at the luxury end. Placing both on the Pebble Beach Concept Lawn puts them in front of the same audience that will judge whether an electric M can carry the badge’s history — a history the parallel M3 anniversary display makes hard to miss.
The week closes on Sunday, when both concepts appear on the Concept Lawn at the 75th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, held from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at The Lodge at Pebble Beach.
Source: www.press.bmwgroup.com