BMW’s hotly-anticipated M3 Touring has finally been unveiled in the flesh, after a few years of rumours and leaks. And, while the final car is something anyone who has an interest in cars can get behind, the best news is that BMW has confirmed it will be coming to Australia.
The 2023 BMW M3 Touring is slated for a first-quarter launch in Australia, meaning we can expect to see it in showrooms between January and March 2023.
While the much-loved BMW M3 and M4, which launched in their most recent update in 2020, receive regular updates and can be had in various guises (such as drivetrain configurations), BMW is sticking to a one-option-only model with the M3 Touring.
When it arrives in Australia, the BMW M3 Touring will only be available with all-wheel drive and an eight-speed automatic gearbox, which also happens to fall under the German marque’s Competition trim. To this end, it means the actual name of BMW’s superfast wagon will be BMW M3 Competition Touring with M xDrive. A bit of a mouthful, we think you’ll agree.
So, onto the numbers.
The BMW M3 Touring will receive a 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine, producing 375kW/510hp with 650Nm torque. The 0-100km/h time? 3.6-seconds, allegedly. It will go on to hit 200km/h in 12.9-seconds and continue to gallop to a top speed of 250km/h. Those who simply must have the ability to go faster can opt for the M Driver’s package, which increases the top speed to 280km/h.
BMW has shared the majority of the underpinnings of the M3 sedan with its elongated sibling, but to account for the extra length and weight, BMW’s engineers have tweaked the adaptive suspension to compensate.
Inside, you’ll get BMW’s latest iDrive 8 dashboard, comprising 14.9-inch and 12.3-inch digital displays, along with lashings of Nappa leather. Carbon fibre seats are available as an optional extra.
But, if you’re getting a wagon, you’ll want to take advantage of the practicality it serves up, and with 500 litres of cargo space as standard, there’s plenty of room to swallow some luggage or just your golf clubs. If you don’t have kids or you just don’t want them to join you on your drive, you can fold down the rear seats to increase rear space to 1510-litres.
While pricing has yet to be confirmed, we’d suggest you best start saving for the last six months of 2022.
The build-up to the release of the M3 Touring has been a few years in the making now. Previously, an exclusive report from BMW Blog (via Drive) made waves when they cited a ‘trusted source’ as saying the project has been given the go-ahead, and that we could see a batsh*t crazy BMW wagon sometime after 2023.
Many were incredulous until BMW’s M Division confirmed the rumour with a cheeky Instagram post.
BMW has only contemplated the idea of an M3 Touring (BMW’s way of saying wagon) on just one previous occasion, with a prototype build of the E46-generation M3. While that model did look incredible, and we imagine had it been made it would have sold like hotcakes, BMW never put it into full production. But now it looks like they’re giving the idea another go.
Until the launch of the official car, a lack of an official M3 Touring hasn’t stopped enthusiasts and geniuses from building their own versions, such as Netherlands-based tuning company Full Car Tuning. If BMW’s version looks anything like Full Car Tuning’s, we’ll be very happy indeed.
Nobody can quite work out why BMW has never seen fit to build an M3 wagon before. After all, its rivals Audi and Mercedes-Benz both have superhot versions of their wagons, with RS and AMG models respectively.
As BMW Blog points out, the latest generation of M3 has optional all-wheel drive, so is perhaps better-suited than ever to have its body elongated to propel families down the highway at breakneck speeds. Although we imagine the real car nuts out there will want to splash out on a rear-wheel-drive manual variant, should it ever come to market.