Codenamed G81, the M3 Touring is a bit of an oddball. For starters, the humble station wagon is an old man's body style in the day and age of the sport utility vehicle. But more importantly, BMW went back to roots with it.
Long before the go-faster maniacs at M affixed the M badge to a sport utility vehicle, they had the E34. Fewer than 900 units of the M5 Touring were produced for said generation, and the E34 is all the more important in the M pantheon of sporty cars because it was assembled (to a great extent by hand) at BMW M's Garching facility.
From a naturally-aspirated sixer, the M5 Touring leveled up to a high-revving V10 for the E61. There's another M5 Touring in the offing under the G99 codename, due in 2024 as a 2025 model with an AWD plug-in hybrid V8 drivetrain.
It's a well-known fact that BMW evaluated an M3 Touring for the E46, yet the bean counters in Munich didn't give it the green light for series production. Those who converted the E46 sedan to a longroof were vindicated by the G81, which is selling like hotcakes.
Frank van Meel, the big kahuna at BMW M, recently confirmed that G81 production had to be increased in order to satisfy demand. What's even more surprising is that BMW's first-ever M3 Touring isn't sold in the United States, a market where the sedan is doing great.
Part of the reason for the M3's appeal is the handling, and – as BMW enthusiasts already know – the S58 engine produces more power and torque than advertised. The German automaker's way of calibrating traction control and the ZF-supplied automatic transmission makes the M3 a force to be reckoned with in a straight line. In the M3 Touring's case, the estimate from zero to 100 kilometers per hour (62 miles per hour) is 3.6 seconds, which means 3.4 seconds to 60 mph (97 kph).
Paul Maric of Australian motoring publication Car Expert needed 3.47 seconds to reach 100 clicks on an unprepped surface, which goes to show that BMW sandbags like crazy. The pull from 80 to 120 kilometers per hour (50 to 75 miles per hour) took a meager 2.12 seconds, which is utterly insane for a compact executive-sized car that weighs 1,865 kilograms (4,112 pounds).
Pictured in Thundernight Metallic, the M3 Touring in the video below also stops on a dime thanks to large brakes with six-piston calipers up front. In combination with the standard Michelins, it needed 3.1 seconds and 36.79 meters (120.7 feet) to fully stop from 62 mph.
ynguldyn, the resident insider at Bimmerpost, claims that BMW will bring the G99 stateside to repent for not selling the G81 stateside. With 700-plus horsepower on deck, the roomier sibling of the M3 Touring is certain to steal a few customers away from the aesthetically challenged XM that flaunts up to 738 hp.
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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