It’s Spider-Man: Brand Neue Klasse as far as BMW is concerned, because the German carmaker has managed to shoehorn its new iX3 (and the 5-Series, but we’re ignoring that because it’s the petrol one) into the new Spider-Man movie in exchange for an undisclosed amount of cash.
BMW says the cars are essential to the plot, “enabling them to connect with a global fan base” – which is just what you need, the kids badgering you to get a giant electric SUV after you’ve bought them the tie-in promotional Lego sets.
Judging by these computer enhanced pictures though, we're not even sure that Spider-Man and the iX3 have ever been in the same room together – could they be the same person? Something to think about.
The Munich-based manufacturer says the film sees Spider-Man faced with “the greatest threat he has ever faced”. Range anxiety? Not likely – the car is rated at up to 434 miles of EPA range (that’s the US measurement – in Europe it’s up to 500 miles of WLTP range). Perhaps it's trying to find a parking space in central New York.
Existing owners of BMWs will no doubt enjoy seeing the little Spider-Man related Easter egg that’s set to appear on the dashboard of the company’s cars across 70 countries.
We’ve no idea what it actually is, but BMW says that a “full-screen festive animation in the Control Display” with backing music and splenetic special effects from the ambient lighting will be available in cars from 27 July to 10 August as long as you’ve got the right display equipment running the suitable operating system.
It’s apparently optional, but we should at least be thankful that it’s free – this is the company that tried to start charging customers a subscription fee for high-beam headlights and heated seats, remember.
Our Car of the Year for 2026 is available to order in the US if Peter Parker did happen to want to drive one around for himself – true fans will remember that Tom Holland’s character passed his driving test in Audi-sponsored promotional materials for Spider-Man: Homecoming and even got to drive Flash Thompson’s convertible.
The iX3 SUV starts from $61,500 in America, though deliveries of the new car aren’t scheduled to begin until September, and the end of the world could happen before then if you’re living in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
