The all-new BMW M3 Touring was recently set loose at the Nurburgring against the stopwatch, with a skilled driver at the helm and a dashcam to record the action. The footage was uploaded online a few hours ago, and it proves what we already knew: that this model is a family-friendly track beast.
In the hand of Sport Auto's test driver Christian Gebhardt, and with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires on its feet, the BMW M3 Touring managed to complete a lap of the Nurburgring Nordschleife in 7 minutes and 34.39 seconds.
But what does this mean exactly? A quick look on FastestLaps reveals that it came just a few tenths ahead of the iconic Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series. The M3 Touring also managed to beat the second-gen Honda NSX, which was driven by the same man in 7:30.00, and the Porsche 991 Carrera S, Lexus LFA, and Ferrari 458 Italia clocked at 7:37.90, 7:38.00, and 7:38.00, respectively.
Further up the chart, we find the previous-gen Porsche 911 Turbo S, which was a few tenths quicker than the M3 Touring, as well as the Mercedes-AMG GT S, Ferrari F12berlinetta, and BMW M8 Competition. These completed the flying lap in 7:33.04, 7:33.00, and 7:32.79, respectively. The Mercedes-AMG One holds the lap record with 6:30.70, followed by Manthey's Porsche 911 GT2 RS and the McLaren P1 LM with 6:38.84 and 6:43.20, respectively.
Photo: Screenshot Youtube | SportAuto
Unveiled a few months back, the BMW M3 Touring is the M Division's answer to Mercedes-AMG's C 63 Estate and Audi's RS 4 Avant. The super wagon builds on the M3 Competition, using the same 3.0-liter twin-turbo straight-six that yanks out 503 hp (510 ps/375 kW) and 479 lb-ft (650 Nm) of torque. For a family-friendly machine that uses a straight-six with forced induction, it is very fast, taking 3.6 seconds to hit 62 mph (100 kph) and tapping out at 174 mph (280 kph).
An eight-speed automatic transmission deploys the thrust to the rear-biased xDrive all-wheel drive system, which is the standard configuration. The car also comes with a sport-tuned suspension, a differential, uprated brakes that can be optionally swapped with carbon ceramic discs, and a few other goodies. As for the official lap time of the M3 Touring on the Nurburgring Nordschleife, it is 7:35.060, so it just broke its own record.
Unfortunately, the Munich auto marque has no intention of bringing it to the New World, where you will have to settle for its four-door counterpart instead, the normal M3, or perhaps its two-door siblings, the M4 Coupe and M4 Convertible. The M3 Competition xDrive has an MSRP of $84,300 in the United States, and for a similar M4 Coupe, you're looking at a minimum of $86,300.
After a series of unfortunate events put an end to Cristian's dream of entering a custom built & tuned old-school Dacia into a rally competition, he moved on to drive press cars and write for a living. He's worked for several automotive online journals and now he's back at autoevolution after his first tour in the mid-2000s. Full profile
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