BMW’s newest Vision concept—which looks specifically to the next phase of the M performance series—comes with a promise to keep every ‘ultimate driver’ behind the wheel of the future.

Amen to that.

The Vision M Next, as it’s called, is BMW’s latest concept. It’s a plug-in hybrid sporting a drivetrain made up of a turbocharged 4-cylinder ICE and an electric system; the details, as of now, are still a company secret. BMW still provides precise specs for the car, though. For the benefit of the curious, the HP rating is 591 HP, and the company says the top speed is 186 MPH.

At this phase, the look of the car, and its technological firepower, may be more interesting. In keeping with the self-referential nature of many contemporary higher-end cars, the Vision M Next voices the history of the M series, as well as its new direction.

The prototype sports a striking two-tone paint job, and a self-consciously ‘futuristic’ interior—where is it written that futuristic concepts must dress like sci-fi movie props from the last century?—along with a bit of eerie atmospheric backlighting behind the kidney grille sections, which are larger than the i8’s. The car’s shape is hard and planar, with little expression; a wedge car for the second half of the coming decade. But the design language naturally isn’t as developed as the i8 at this point, and the M Next, however visionary or not, lacks the production car’s effortless grace.

BMW’s press release puts emphasis on the selectable EV AWD and ICE-powered RWD, as well as the BOOST+ mode, which provides a quick horsepower boost for highway positioning, or just good ol’ fashioned fun. The car’s all-EV range is 62 miles, which is respectable given the performance profile.

Still, with the company crowing that all-EV sales are going to double by 2021, why not an all-EV M model? BMW naturally won’t risk any models, least of all the M-branded ones, until its EV technology is in line with what customers expect. But perhaps the latency period between today’s concept and tomorrow’s production version will yield multiple drivetrain options, including full electric.