BMW M's Hubert Weichselbaumer providing a glimpse of the M3 Touring's side profile from the rear. Screengrab: BMW M YouTube.
Fifty years of BMW’s M division will reportedly be celebrated at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed in the United Kingdom with the long-awaited reveal of the new M3 Touring.
Teased in a pair of videos on the BMW M YouTube page in March and then April, but confirmed outright back in 2020, the first-ever M3 estate will take centre stage on the grounds of Goodwood House when the three-day event kicks off on 23 June.
“As BMW M, we feel honoured to play a very special role at this year’s Festival of Speed. For our 50th anniversary, we couldn’t imagine a better place to celebrate our products with fans of the brand,” BMW M boss Frank van Meel was quoted by the BMW Blog as saying.
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Despite not naming the M3 Touring by name, van Meel let slip that it is “looking forward to unveiling a certain vehicle to the world’s public for the first time – a vehicle we have been waiting a long time for”.
Extensively updated and in some cases, re-engineered from the standard 3 Series Touring underneath its skin, the M3 Touring will square-off against the Audi RS4 Avant and the incoming Mercedes-AMG C63, with availability set to be restricted to the flagship Competition model.
This means the standard inclusion of not only the eight-speed Steptronic gearbox, but also the xDrive all-wheel-drive system in order compete directly with the RS4 and the C63.
As with its sedan stablemate, and also the M4 Competition, the M3 Touring will be powered by the S58 3.0-litre turbocharged straight-six engine that makes 375kW/650Nm.
Top speed is expected to be limited to 290 km/h with the 0-100 km/h sprint likely to hover around the four-second mark.
It’s unveiling set to follow the 20 May debut of the M4 CSL, the M3 Touring, for now, continues to remain a no-no for South Africa, though expect an official announcement once the covers come off at Goodwood next month.
