The BMW M3 Touring made a big splash earlier this year when it received its public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. We’ve seen the super wagon in an assortment of regular and Individual paints, including the menacing Frozen Black. Those looking for a more eye-catching shade also have the option to order the G81 in Toronto Red.
A near-production prototype of the first-ever M3 with a long roof was seen undergoing final testing near the Nürburgring. With the world premiere in the rearview mirror, the camouflage is long gone, allowing us to see the high-performance Touring in this vibrant color with a contrasting black roof. As a refresher, you can’t get the car with an optional carbon roof since BMW crunched the numbers and figured it wouldn’t be financially feasible to make changes to the assembly line for a relatively low-volume product.
The test vehicle seen here appears to have the optional M Carbon ceramic brakes judging by the flashy gold calipers. It lacks the M Performance Parts we’ve seen on other M3 Touring, such as the front canards and the more aggressive exhaust system with the center-mounted tips. BMW will build the long-awaited sports wagon exclusively in the Competition guise with xDrive and an eight-speed automatic transmission.
Production is scheduled to start in November when the hotly anticipated M model will have its market launch. In many countries, customers are already able to order the car, which is going to be available in right-hand-drive countries as well. Australia, Japan, and the UK insisted an RHD variant should be made, ultimately convincing the higher-ups in Munich to give the engineers the green light to put the steering wheel on the right side.
Since the M3 Touring made its official debut in the second half of June, AMG has replied with the 2023 C63 Estate. However, these high-powered wagons have completely different engines since BMW is sticking by its twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six without electrification while Mercedes has axed the V8 in favor of a four-cylinder, plug-in hybrid setup.
The speedy family hauler might have a life cycle longer than originally planned taking into account BMW has allegedly extended the G20/G21’s shelf life by two years until 2027. The equivalent M models will stick around as well, with the G80 to bow out of production in June and the G81 in October of the same year.
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