At 36, the BMW M3 is available for the first time in Touring, and L’argus has invited himself on board. This break offers 510 hp, all-wheel drive and a sharp chassis that allowed it to set a record at the Nürburgring, without sacrificing its load volume. The Audi RS4 has found someone to talk to.
BMW M and station wagons is a complicated story. An improbable relationship, which took a long time to start, rekindles punctually before breaking off again but which, casually, lasts and always leaves the engineers of the Motorsport department with a taste for coming back.
It’s already been thirty years since this story began, with the M5 Touring type E34 dating from 1992. The M5 Touring type E61 revived the concept in 2007. Since then, nothing. Meanwhile, in 2000, a prototype M3 Touring type E46 was built. But the latter unfortunately remained without follow-up.
Without continuation? Not quite since the idea remained pegged to the body of wizards in Munich for two decades. And here it is displayed in broad daylight through the first production BMW M3 Touring.
BMW finally has its anti-RS4
Since the discontinuation of the Mercedes-AMG C 63 Break, whose next iteration will swap the V8 for an electrified four-cylinder, the Audi RS4 Avant, with a 450 hp biturbo V6 and all-wheel drive, has There was more competition in the market for very sporty family station wagons (segment D). BMW finally offers him a rival to his measure.
The M3 Touring is exclusively offered with the powertrain of the M4 and M3 Saloon Competition, namely a 3.0 l twin-turbo inline six-cylinder engine with 510 hp and 650 Nm automatically associated with an eight-speed automatic gearbox. The M xDrive adaptive all-wheel drive offered as an option on the coupe, convertible and sedan is standard here, but it still offers a two-wheel drive mode for those who want to “drift” with family and luggage, in addition to its standard configurations. and Sports.
” The idea to develop this Touring version came to us in the winter of 2019 when we were doing development tests on snow in Sweden with the coupe and sedan getting four-wheel drive for the first time in their history. We then saw all the potential this would offer in combination with a station wagon body. ” tells us Hagen Franke, project manager, who underlines the ability of the M3 Touring to combine sportiness, safety and practicality.
Muscle, but still chest
The M3 type E46 had almost been declined in break in the year 2000.
But grafting M3 undersides to 3 Series Touring bodywork, or vice versa, wasn’t as easy as it looks. Already in 2000, it was the complexity of this operation that got the better of the M3 station wagon project. ” It was necessary to modify until the construction of the chassis “says Hagen Franke about him. This time around, however, the idea had been incorporated early on in the design of the later M3 and M4, ‘just in case’. The break will also be produced in Munich, alongside the sedan, from November 2022.
Compared to a Series 3 Touring, this M3 displays considerably widened fenders. At the rear, they make getting on board a little more difficult, as do the prominent side skirts, but prove essential to house the resized tracks and wheels. The station wagon received more reinforcements than the sedan due to lower stiffness at the base. This is found even under the floor of the trunk. In the same vein, the roof is only offered in steel. It is black as standard, like the spoiler that extends it. Despite the changes, the loading volume is equal to that of the other Series 3 Touring and therefore ranges from 500 to 1,510 l. The rear window can be opened independently of the tailgate.
With 1,940 kg on the scale in running order, the BMW M3 Touring weighs 60 kg more than an M340i xDrive Touring and 85 kg more than an M3 Competition M xDrive Sedan. Fortunately, this mass is distributed almost equally between the two axles, and the piloted suspension takes care of the grain. An RS4 Avant still weighs 120 kg less.
The fastest station wagon in the Ring
As usual, BMW took its new creation to the Nordschleife (north loop) of the Nürburgring to demonstrate its capabilities. The car completed a lap in 7’35”060, notably between the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4-Door Coupé (7’27”800) and the Audi RS3 Sedan (7’40”748), at neck and neck with the Tesla Model S Plaid (7’35”579) over the full 20.832 km route. On the 20.6 km course used for record attempts until 2019, she was timed in 7’30”30, thus establishing itself as the fastest station wagon on the circuit ahead of the 612 hp Mercedes-AMG E 63 S with this bodywork, which had a time of 7’45”19 in 2017. And that’s just 2.3 s slower than the previous generation BMW M4 GTS.
According to its technical data sheet, the BMW M3 Touring goes from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.6 s, only a tenth more than the sedan but above all 0.5 s less than the Audi RS4, and reaches 200 km/h in 12.9 sec. Its top speed, limited to 250 km/h as a base, can be increased to 280 km/h with the optional M Experience pack. BMW keeps this limit for safety, due to the load on the tyres. Audi applies the same policy with the RS4.
TO READ. Extreme tests at the Nürburgring: the best of 2021 on video!
First class sports
In addition to its body-built rear fenders and its glossy black aerodynamic kit (front spoilers, side extractors and sills, diffuser, etc.), the M3 Touring stands out from the standard 3 Series station wagons with the gaping vertical grille that it takes over from the other M3s and M4s. , as well as its 19-inch front and 20-inch rear wheels. Not to mention its two dual exhaust outlets. It also has a top-of-the-range cabin with electric and heated M Sport seats covered in Merino leather, as well as three-zone automatic air conditioning, among other things.
The break also receives the double curved slab combining digital dashboard and touch screen infotainment fitted to the just restyled 3 Series. The navigation system is standard. These services obviously come at a high price since the BMW M3 Competition M xDrive Touring is displayed at €111,950 in France. That’s €13,540 more than the Audi RS4 Avant. But when you ask Hagen Franke what the M3 Touring has more than its competitor on the rings, he replies with a smile: ” Ours is fun to drive. “Which act!
TO READ. BMW M. The sports car saga in photos
