Because We Can - BMW E46 M3 Touring + E39 M5 Touring

M3 E46 Touring

Almost every M3 Touring you see is most likely aftermarket, but not this one however. It was a concept car made by BMW to demonstrate that they were able to make a Touring version of the M3, and as an M-division head prototype designer and M-division employee for over 40 years explained, they were able to make a prototype that would demonstrate that BMW was actually able to make the E46 3-series Touring into a true M car. Another thing they demonstrated with this concept was the rear doors could be redesigned from the regular E46 Touring to match the wheel arches on the M3. The engine is unchanged though, still the S54B32 straight-six we know from the normal M3 E46 with 343 horsepower going to the rear wheels. And as mentioned, this never made it to the production line which was quite sad because it could make BMW more competitive against rivals like the Audi B5 RS4 which blew all its rivals away pretty much.

Now it just sits in a dark BMW warehouse and almost never sees daylight, there are quite a few YouTube videos about it actually. And it’s many years ago, yet it still looks (and probably smells) showroom fresh. And it’s even rarer than the E46 M3 GTR street car. We’ve seen many many M3 concept cars throughout its 30+ years of production, but we really do need this one. The E46 M3 was only offered as a Coupé and convertible, and not sedan, however there are some aftermarket ones. Keyword: Aftermarket.

E39 M5 Touring

By far most E39 M5 Tourings you see are aftermarket, just like the E46 M3 Touring. But what if I told you that BMW actually made a one-off E39 Touring? Well, they did. And like the M3 Touring it was a demonstration car to let BMW engineers see that they were actually able to make an M version of the normal E39 5-series, just by doing a few modifications to the rear suspensions. As well as the rear doors being redesigned to fit in with the wider-ish fenders. It’s also powered by thr S62B50/49 4.9L V8 producing 400 horsepower going to the rear wheels that we already know from the normal E39 M5 which is only available as a sedan. The next generation M5 though, received an “E61” version which was the Touring version but with only 2,100 units being produced. And like the E46 M3 Touring, this one is also stored in a BMW warehouse and almost never sees any dayligt most likely, and is still in showroom condition. It might not be as attention grabbing as the E34 M5 convertible, but still worth a look at least.

If you want a car like this, there are loads of aftermarket part brands that make E39 M5 Touring conversion kits which still look very identical to this concept car. But sadly, there isn’t really any footage of this car.

BONUS: The E34 M5 soft top

This one is stored in the same warehouse as the E39 M5 Touring, and is also a one-off concept! You’re looking at the factory built M5 convertible that never was, it was actually planned to reach the production price in 1989 and be sold for a price of 50,000 GBP. And to Geneva it goes. But later on, BMW decided to cancel this version due to non-M BMW convertibles selling in much higher numbers that this most likely would. And the engine is still the S38B38 3.8L straight six engine.

This was another one of my short “filler” blogposts, before the next big one comes out. I hope you enjoyed!