The BMW M3 Touring has only been in production for a year and has already been spied with a facelift.
The hot wagon, the first long-roof M3 the brand has offered, was initially revealed at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in June 2022, and entered production in November.
Now, it has been spied testing with a camouflaged front end, which is where we can assume most of the tweaks will be made.
The black-and-white camouflage wrap on the front fascia doesn’t appear to be hiding many updates except for redesigned daytime running lights.
At the rear, the tail light clusters seem to have been slightly modified but not enough to warrant camouflage wrap from BMW.
We can expect similar changes for the M3 sedan.
BMW has been steadily rolling out variants of the M3 and M4, with the Touring among the latest additions. The related sedan was revealed back in late 2020 and went on sale in Australia in 2021, which explains why the M3 line is getting a facelift.
If this update follows the same pattern as BMW’s other mid-cycle facelifts then the next-generation M3 Touring won’t gain any extra power under the bonnet.
Power in the current M3 Competition wagon comes from a 3.0-litre twin-turbo inline-six with 375kW and 650Nm, mated to an eight-speed M Steptronic automatic and variable (but rear-biased) all-wheel drive.
It can do the 0 to 100km/h sprint in 3.6 seconds.
As the M3 range has already moved to the BMW Curved Display, which is paired with the eighth generation of the company’s iDrive infotainment system, there aren’t likely to be any major changes in the cabin.
Presumably, the Touring-specific performance upgrades from the sedan such as stiffer struts, new spring, damper and anti-roll bar setups both front and rear, and specific tuning for suspension, steering, and ESP systems, will all be carried forward.
BMW is also reportedly working on an even hotter CS version of the M3 Touring, which could launch in 2025.
It will reportedly be based on the existing M3 Competition Touring, and therefore stick with all-wheel drive and an eight-speed automatic. It could potentially pump out 405kW of power, and also feature various lightweight modifications.
The M3 Touring arrived in Australia earlier this year, and is priced from $177,500 before on-road costs.
Franciscus van Meel, CEO of BMW M GmbH, has confirmed the division will launch no fewer than four new models throughout 2024, including updates to the M3 and M4, plus the new M4 CS and M5 and M5 Touring.
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