Photo: Instagram user 63np
BMW is the only German automaker right now that's crazy enough not to offer a high-performance wagon. Lots of people have tried to fabricate their own F81 M3 Touring out of an F31 3 Series body, and one Brit seems to have pulled it off.
We're not talking about pure aesthetics here, even though adding a complete M3 body kit to the 3 Series Touring isn't as easy as it sounds due to the fender flaring. However, it's what's under the hood that really matters.
Our buddy Marek posted a lovely F31 M conversion on Instagram recently. It's based on the 335d xDrive and looks lovely in white. However, we took to Google and quickly found something even better.
Instagram user 63np is the proud owner of an RS500 Cosworth, a Ducati bike, a Transit van and this "F81 M3 Estate."
The project started out as a normal 320d. However, the 2-liter diesel has been swapped out for the engine any M3 needs, the S55. It even seems to have the carbon fiber under-hood brace borrowed from the sedan.
A full body kit was the install, complete with new bumpers, side skirts, and much wider fenders. We suspect that at the back, quite a lot of cutting and welding went on. Extra ground effects seem to come from some M Performance goodies.
Of course, not everything is 100% accurate here, but having the 20-inch 666M wheels and what looks like an Akrapovic exhaust means that this M3 Touring is better than most sedans.
So, if people are crazy enough to build one themselves, why hasn't BMW made a production M Touring. Well, engineers put several prototypes together over the decades, but the top brass decided wagons are a strictly European thing, while most customers come from the United States.
However, we think they got it wrong. 2018 is the first year of the C-Class wagon in North America, and it's already doing well. The Volvo V90, Golf SportWagen, and Audi allroad prove that demand for wagons exists across the pond from Munich.
Our buddy Marek posted a lovely F31 M conversion on Instagram recently. It's based on the 335d xDrive and looks lovely in white. However, we took to Google and quickly found something even better.
Instagram user 63np is the proud owner of an RS500 Cosworth, a Ducati bike, a Transit van and this "F81 M3 Estate."
The project started out as a normal 320d. However, the 2-liter diesel has been swapped out for the engine any M3 needs, the S55. It even seems to have the carbon fiber under-hood brace borrowed from the sedan.
A full body kit was the install, complete with new bumpers, side skirts, and much wider fenders. We suspect that at the back, quite a lot of cutting and welding went on. Extra ground effects seem to come from some M Performance goodies.
Of course, not everything is 100% accurate here, but having the 20-inch 666M wheels and what looks like an Akrapovic exhaust means that this M3 Touring is better than most sedans.
So, if people are crazy enough to build one themselves, why hasn't BMW made a production M Touring. Well, engineers put several prototypes together over the decades, but the top brass decided wagons are a strictly European thing, while most customers come from the United States.
However, we think they got it wrong. 2018 is the first year of the C-Class wagon in North America, and it's already doing well. The Volvo V90, Golf SportWagen, and Audi allroad prove that demand for wagons exists across the pond from Munich.
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