After eons of wishful thinking by means of renderings and concepts, BMW finally introduced a wagon-bodied M3. Codenamed G81 as opposed to G81 for the four-door sedan, the family-oriented model is a bit heavy and quite pricey as well, regardless of market.
The Competition-only M3 Touring costs £85,465 ($106,580) in the United Kingdom, where carwow is based. Not available stateside, the go-faster longroof weighs a rather porky 1,865 kilos (4,112 pounds).
As for the black-painted car on the other lane of the runway, that's a current-generation Audi RS 4 Avant. It features a six-cylinder engine as well, and it also comes with all-wheel drive. What's more, its eight-speed automatic transmission is a ZF-supplied 8HP, the very same tranny used in the new M3 Touring.
Unveiled at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, the four-ringed wagon is lighter and more affordable. 1,745 kilograms (3,847 pounds) and £69,600 ($86,795), to be more precise. Is there any chance for the RS 4 Avant to beat the M3 Touring in the quarter mile? There is, but only if you squeeze five adults in the G81…
Mat Watson and Yianni Charalambous initially duke it out alone in their cars, with the Bimmer making easy work of the rivaling compact executive wagon. Mat requests to level the playing field with one passenger, then two, then three, and – finally – four passengers in the M3 Touring. Incredibly though it may be, the I6-engined BMW didn't even break a sweat with four occupants onboard. With five, however, the Audi breezes past the M3 Touring to a 12-second quarter mile as opposed to 12.1 seconds for the G81. With only the driver onboard, the BMW took 11.6 seconds.
Mat and Yianni then proceed to race over the half mile from a roll, initially from 50 miles per hour in normal mode, then in sport mode. On both occasions, the M3 Touring obliterated the RS 4 Avant fair and square.
In the final segment of the video below, carwow's host believes that he has a chance to outbrake the M3 Touring from 100 miles per hour (160.9 kilometers per hour). Mat was badly mistaken, though, which goes to show how fantastic that M3 Touring is. Even when you give it some turns, the G81 does not disappoint.
Truth be told, Mat knew from the very beginning that he would lose all challenges in the RS 4 Avant. For starters, the Bimmer is more powerful and torquier.
But more importantly, the S58 – and the B58 on which it's based – produce more ponies and pound-feet than advertised. The 2.9-liter V6 in the RS 4 Avant is pretty good in its own right, but sadly for Audi Sport, it doesn't hold a candle to BMW M's inline-six lump.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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