First BMW M3 Touring: 510 hp strong spectacle

Highlights First ever M3 Touring Only as 510 hp Competition Always xDrive four-wheel drive Just as practical as regular 3-series Touring Competitor for RS4 Avant and C 63 Estate The run-up to the introduction of a new model is sometimes long, but rarely as long as that of the BMW M3 Touring. In 2000, BMW’s M department already toyed with the idea of ​​giving the then current 3-series (E46) an M3 Touring. Only in 2016 did BMW dare to show the prototype, developed 16 years earlier, as the M3 Touring Concept to the outside world. M enthusiasts begged BMW’s M department to develop an M3 Touring, but it would take until August 2020 before BMW officially announced the arrival of such a model. Promise is debt and now that BMW’s M department is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary, the time has finally come. This is the BMW M3 Touring Competition xDrive, the very first M3 Touring ever. The full model name of this M3 Touring says the BMW expert enough about the powertrain. The ‘Competition’ part of the name points out that the 510 hp and 650 Nm strong variant of the 3.0 six-in-line with two turbos serves as a power station. The 480 hp and 550 Nm strong variant of the same 3.0 as it is in the non-Competition M3 and M4 passes the nose of the M3 Touring. In addition, the M3 Touring is always equipped with xDrive four-wheel drive, while the M3’s sedan is also only available with rear-wheel drive. Don’t worry, the full power can also be sent to the rear wheels only. BMW M3 Touring Competition xDrive Fast and practical In any case, its fierce powertrain provides the M3 Touring with impressive specifications. By far the sportiest BMW station wagon ever, assisted by the eight-speed M Steptronic automatic transmission, it can reach a speed of 100 km/h in 3.6 seconds, lagging just 0.1 second behind the four-door M3 Competition xDrive. More impressive are the mere 12.9 seconds it takes the M3 Touring to reach a speed of 200 km/h from a standstill on the digital counters. The top speed is regulated at 250 km/h, although it can optionally be increased to 280 km/h with the M Driver’s Package. Good news: with the M3 Touring you can move as many tent bags, folding tables or poodles from A to B at a speedy pace as in the regular 3-series Touring. The luggage compartment is simply 500 liters and has a capacity of 1,510 liters with the rear seats folded down. Like the well-known M3s and in particular the M3 Competition, the BMW M3 Touring Competition xDrive is of course much more than a four-wheel drive 3-series Touring with a solid mountain of horsepower at its disposal. The direct rival of Audi’s RS4 Avant and the forthcoming Mercedes-AMG C63 Estate has a special M differential on the rear axle, an adaptive M suspension, variable power steering, an extra stiff chassis, Dynamic Stability Control and even a piece of software that analyze your drifts and track your lap times. Coming from BMW’s M department, and rear 19- and rear 20-inch large wheels hidden braking makes the M3 Touring calm again. Carbon ceramic brakes are optional. BMW M3 Touring Competition xDrive Design The M3 Touring makes no bones about it and immediately tells you what it is capable of with its firmly widened wheel arches, heavy fencing, exuberant spoiler work and M-signature exhaust pipes. At the top of the rear window is an M-specific rear spoiler and the roof is standard in black. If you prefer a roof that has the same color as the rest of the coach, you have to pay extra for it. You can also buy into your pocket if you want to hang the exterior of the M3 Touring full of carbon fiber accents, which are in the optional M Carbon package. The appearance of the M3 Touring is of course not entirely surprising. In addition to the fact that all visual attractions are typical M attributes, AutoWeek was able to show you the sporty station on a patent image in March. BMW M3 Touring Competition xDrive The interior of the M3 Touring is endowed with M Sport seats and quite a bit of leather. Lightweight seats with carbon fiber shells are available as an option. Furthermore, the M3 Touring naturally benefits from the same things that BMW brought to the facelifted 3-series, including BMW Operating System 8 that is conjured up on two optically fused curved screens. The instrumentation with 12.3-inch and is therefore no longer under a canopy. The screen next to it belongs to the infotainment system and has a diameter of 14.9 inches. Here too, the iDrive button is retained, in contrast to cars such as the 1 and 2 series and the X1. The first BMW M3 Touring Competition xDrive units will roll off the production line in Munich next to the M3 Sedan in November. Dutch prices are not yet known. BMW M3 Touring Competition xDrive Competitors It is interesting to see how the German ‘premium brands’ some top versions of cars in the segment of the 3 and 5 series each walk their own path. For example, Audi has been supplying the RS4 and RS6 for several generations only as an Avant and not as a sedan. Mercedes-Benz supplies the heaviest AMG variants of both the C- and E-class as a sedan and as an Estate and the C-class of course also as a Coupé and Cabriolet. BMW has been carrying the M3 and M5 only as a sedan for years (M3 also as a Coupé and Cabriolet). As mentioned, there has never been an M3 Touring before, but there was an M5 Touring of both the E34 and the E60 generation of the 5-series. The Audi RS4 Avant has a 2.9 liter biturbo V6 that sends 450 hp and 600 Nm to all four wheels. The sports station accelerates to a speed of 100 km/h in 4.1 seconds. There is already an AMG 43 variant of the current Mercedes-Benz C-class, although it cannot be compared with the 510 hp M3 Touring with its 408 hp 2.0 four-cylinder. Of course, there will also be more powerful C 63 and C 63 S versions of the C class. They are going to deviate considerably from their 476 hp and 510 hp powerful predecessors. It is in fact over and out for the eight-cylinder for the C-class. Those top AMG versions also don’t get a six-cylinder. Instead, Mercedes-AMG has a reportedly 470 hp 2.0 four-cylinder engine ready, which, together with a 200 hp electric motor, should produce a system power of 670 hp and about 750 Nm. It also does not appear that Mercedes-AMG will only supply the C 63s with rear-wheel drive.

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