Audi has an RS 4 Avant and Mercedes-AMG a C 63 Estate, but BMW stubbornly refused to make an M3 Touring for twenty-five years. Until now. Because a BMW M3 Touring is of course very lucrative. After all, in the premium D-segment, the station wagon is much more popular than the sedan.
Like the M3 Sedan and M4 Coupé, the M3 Touring will have a new 3.0-litre twin-turbo six-in-line with 480 hp or 510 hp (M3 Competition) at its disposal. The ‘normal’ BMW M3 will be equipped with a six-speed manual transmission. The M3 Competition will have an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. Both versions are available with rear-wheel or four-wheel drive.
In the pipeline: BMW M3 Touring and M4 CSL
The 4WD variants of the M3 and M4 Competition go to 100 km/h in 3.5 seconds. In the rear-wheel drive versions you have to wait almost half a second longer. As standard, the top speed of the BMW M3 and M4 is regulated at 250 km/h, but if you leave some money at a BMW dealer, the limiter is screwed up. In addition to the M3 Touring, an M4 CSL will also be launched, a lighter hardcore version of the German sports coupé.
There used to be a BMW M3 Touring
It is not the first time that BMW has made an M3 Touring. Exactly twenty years ago, the brand came up with a prototype of an M3 E46 Touring. It was not shown to the public at the time and was only there to test the flexibility of the production line. Only much later did BMW make the existence of the car public.
Alpina B3 Touring with 462 hp
In recent decades, of course, if you wanted a BMW M3 Touring, you could also move to Alpina. Because the South German tuner / manufacturer invariably had a tasty Alpina B3 Touring ready. It is based on the M340i and has the same 3.0-liter twin-turbo six-cylinder inline engine. In the BMW, the power source is good for 374 hp and 500 Nm. Alpina squeezes out 462 hp and 700 Nm.