It’s Here: The BMW M3 Touring Has Finally Arrived To Take On The Audi RS4 Avant

It feels like an eternity since the first teaser image of the BMW M3 Touring’s rear end dropped, but the wait to see the production-ready super-wagon in full has come to an end, and it looks marvellous. The new M3 Touring will finally be unveiled to the public in the metal this week at Goodwood Festival Of Speed on the 23rd of June.

The new M3 Touring is expected to lead BMW’s 50th anniversary display at Goodwood alongside the new M4 CSL, a selection of the M division’s current models and some famous heritage M cars. Most importantly, we’ll finally get to see the M3 Touring in the metal – if you’re going to Goodwood, you won’t want to miss it. The M3 Touring has adopted the same vertical kidney grilles as used on the standard M3, and the rest of the Touring’s long estate body shape has been given a muscular body kit, wide arches and rear diffuser, so it certainly fits in with M Division’s back catalogue.

The M3 Touring has a wider track than the standard model, along with an uprated suspension system and beefier drilled and vented brakes with six-piston callipers.

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The new M3 Touring is powered by a 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged inline-six producing 503bhp and 442lb-ft of torque and will be sold exclusively in Competition guise. It has a 0-62mph time of 3.6 seconds (just a tenth of a second slower than the saloon) and its top speed is limited to 155mph unless you opt for the M Driver’s Package which raises this to 174mph. Like the M3 saloon, the Touring also features BMW’s selectable four-wheel-drive system, which can send up to 100% of the engine’s power directly to the rear wheels.

Until now, our best look at the M3 Touring had come in the form of a video showcasing the car’s final stages of development. In the video, we join BMW development driver Frank Weishar on a high-speed test run where the M3 Touring’s latest chassis setup is put through its paces. The setup used in the video features stiffer springs at the rear as well as revised damper settings. Head of Functional Integration Driving Dynamics and Driver Assistance at BMW M Klaus Huber stated that the team were working to reduce understeer that was made apparent by the treacherous “Hatzenbach” section of the Nürburgring.

The car’s specialist driver Frank Weishar seemed impressed with the upgrades but stated, “Yes, we can still do a bit more on the sport tuning (and) the variable damping”. It might just be an estate version of the M3, but it’s clear to see BMW’s attention to detail when it comes to building the ultimate driving machines. Only once we’ve driven the car will we be able to confirm the results of BMW’s efforts.

Prices for the M3 Touring start at £80,550 (approx. $99,000) in the UK, which is £2,000 ($2,500) more than the equivalent saloon car. Those in the United States will, unfortunately, miss out on the upcoming sports wagon unless BMW changes its mind.