Much to the chagrin of wagon enthusiasts, BMW never made a series production run of the E46 M3 Touring. Just one example exists – a proof of concept developed as a prototype and now buried deep in the BMW vaults. Of course, this hasn’t stopped intrepid gearheads from building their own. While other M3 Touring custom builds exist, this fully M3-swapped E46 Touring is now live on Bring a Trailer, and it checks all the right boxes.
The wagon started life as a 2001 BMW 325xi. Sourcing parts from a donor 2001 M3, the car was completely changed over to what we see today. The 3.2-liter S54 engine, six-speed manual transmission, ECU, and subframes all found new homes in the wagon. The donor car also volunteered its fender flares, bumpers, and headlights, which were added before the car was painted its current hue, Silver Grey Metallic. Aftermarket additions came next, and you’ll note Recaro seats, aftermarket 19-inch wheels, Bilstein coilovers, and a whole mess of other additions to bring the car’s style in line with its newfound performance credentials.
The car has a cornucopia of other goodies that we haven’t necessarily seen on other M3 Touring clones, too. F80 M3 CS seatbelts, for example, are a nice touch, and a Karbonius carbon fiber airbox is already installed – of course accompanied by a Kassel Performance tune. Bigger brakes sourced from a 996 Porsche and ZHP E46, a short shifter kit, and aftermarket pistons and head bolts round out most of the performance enhancing changes.
The actual E46 M3 Touring that BMW built was finished in special Chrome Shadow metallic paint. Despite the special-sounding name, it photographs pretty close to the Silver Grey Metallic paint you’ll see on this Touring and production CSL models. The factory – like the current Touring owner – swapped in bits from the M3 Coupe and Cabriolet as needed to give the Touring an authentic M feeling.
Who wouldn’t want to own a concept car come to life? The auction is live now and ends Tuesday, August 20. You can view the M3 wagon listing here.
