BMW prices ballistic 375kW M3 Touring from $177,500
BY PETER BARNWELL
TO AUDIBLE inhalations of breath, BMW pulled the wraps off their new M3 Touring (wagon) at Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK earlier this year.
It was in response to this ‘first ever’ wagon M3, a muscular looking car plainly built for fast families who like to spend time on the track or get to the snow in half the usual time, laws permitting.
The Bimmer M3 carry-all has been given the nod for right hook production and consequently, availability Down Under, a point that will no doubt make plenty of fast car fans with fat wallets really happy.
BMW’s local outpost has just released pricing and Aussie specification details and you can get into one from $177,900 plus on-road costs… a sticker that will also put you into plenty of other highly fancied fast cars and SUVs with both ICE and electrified powertrains.
The M3 Touring follows a swag of high performance treats that keep coming as BMW celebrates 50 years of their ‘M’ performance group this year, from the track special M4 CSL to the all-electric iX M60, and now… the M3 Touring.
Due here in early 2023 the M3 Touring targets customers wanting a little more practicality out of their M car, something that precious few other drivers have in an age of fast SUVs.
Under its low-slung wagon skin, the M3 Touring is powered by the same 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged in-line six found in M3 and M4 Competition models, producing a hairy chested 375kW/650Nm.
The wagon will be exclusively offered in Competition specification, with M xDrive all-wheel-drive system and eight-speed M Steptronic auto transmission.
The combination of all-wheel-drive and twin-turbo six-cylinder grunt, equates to a blistering 3.6-second 0-100km/h sprint and it’ll hit 200km/h in a mere 12.9 seconds on its way to a V-max of 280km/h.
Despite the lack of a manual or even a rear-wheel drive option, the rear-biased M xDrive system will send most of the grunt to the rear axle in 2WD mode, which allows the driver to adjust the intervention thresholds for wheel slip limitation and pretend they are in a rear-wheel drive sports car.
The chassis is tuned extensively and specifically for the Touring, with the goal of achieving a balance of performance and smooth ride comfort for longer journeys along with delivering an engaging drive feel particularly in 2WD (rear) drive mode.
BMW says the M3 Touring chassis development program included testing at the Group’s Miramas facility in the south of France, the winter testing centre in Sweden, a range of public road types, and of course the Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit in Germany where it lapped in times similar to coupe M3 models.
Various chassis changes resulted from the testing, including added stiffening struts on the underbody of the rear axle, new spring, damper and anti-roll bar setup front and back, and other Touring-specific tuning across suspension, steering, stability control and ABS systems.
BMW has achieved a muscular exterior that looks every bit an M car with various performance-focused details like enlarged cooling ducts, bulging wheel arches, exhaust tips integrated into the rear apron, and 50th anniversary M badging.
The Touring sits on 19-inch front and 20-inch rear M forged light alloy wheels with a range of standard options available.
The cabin gets the latest 12.3-inch digital dash and ‘BMW Curved Display’ 14.9-inch infotainment display, which is angled towards the driver.
The Touring also scores Merino leather M Sport seats as standard, with electronic adjustment and memory function, which are actually 9.6kg lighter than standard M Sport seats thanks to the use of carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP).
Wagon practicality comes courtesy of three full-size rear seats, and the rear-seat backrest can be split in a 40:20:40 arrangement.
Individual seat sections, or the entire row, can be folded down, increasing cargo capacity from 500 litres right up to a road trip-ready 1510 litres.
Australia remains a key market for the German car-maker’s performance arm, with one in five BMWs registered here adorning an M badge. The Touring is in with a good chance, too, with more than 600 new M3 models registered locally over the past year alone.
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