Wagons usually don’t get more desirable than the BMW M3 Touring (well, there’s the Audi RS6 Avant), and this G81 build is among the best we’ve seen to date. It eschews the look-at-me M Performance Parts by keeping it simple without the add-ons that make it seem overly designed. This super wagon comes painted in Toronto Red and rides on the 825 M wheels with black accents to go along with the dark roof and mirror caps.
As with all the other M3 Touring models out there, it’s missing a carbon fiber roof. Although BMW offers one for the M3 Sedan (and even the M340i/M340d Sedan since the G20’s LCI last year), it chose not to give the performance estate this lightweight panel. The German luxury brand motivated its decision by saying it would’ve been too much of a hassle to make the necessary adjustments at the Munich plant. Hopefully, the rumored M3 CS Touring will come to life one day and offer a carbon fiber roof.
Whoever configured this car had impeccable taste as the G81 has an Individual interior with full Merino White leather and carbon fiber trim on the dashboard. While body-hugging bucket seats are available, this M3 Touring has the standard seats delivering greater comfort, especially on long trips a wagon owner typically does more than someone who has a sedan or a coupe.
As you have probably heard by now, the M division is pleasantly surprised with the strong demand the long-awaited speed wagon is enjoying, so much so production at the factory in Munich has increased. That’s despite the fact the M3 Touring is not cheap by any stretch of the imagination. Sold strictly as a Competition model with an automatic transmission and xDrive, the ultimate family car retails from €101,300 in Germany. Mind you, that’s before ticking any boxes on the list with options.
2024 will see the return of the M5 Touring. Codenamed G99, the third-generation model is expected to get a US visa, unlike its smaller brother. The M division has already announced it will deploy an adaptation of the XM’s plug-in hybrid V8 setup, and we’ve heard through the grapevine the combined output will surpass 700 horsepower.
[Photos: BMW Slovakia | Samuel Zaťko, https://www.instagram.com/samkoza]
