Watch: BMW M3 CS Touring sets new Nürburgring lap record

BMW’s latest performance wagon has shattered expectations, and the Nürburgring lap time for wagons, with a record-breaking sub-7:30 sprint around the legendary track.

August 4, 2025

CAR Magazine 1 minute read

The BMW M3 CS Touring has set a new lap record for wagons at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

In July 2025, BMW put the new M2 CS through its paces at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, with the German automaker’s most compact M car completing a lap around The Green Hell in just 7:25.5 minutes – the quickest time ever recorded in the Compact Car category.

However, now, BMW has decided to see just how quick its most hardcore M3 wagon can complete a lap around the 20.8km northern loop of this revered race track.

The first BMW Touring to don the ‘CS’ badge, the M3 CS Touring set a lap time of 7:29.490 minutes, making it the quickest wagon to ever lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Noteworthy, it bested the previous record, held by its non-CS sibling, by just over five seconds. In addition, the time set by the M3 CS Touring is just over a second shy of the M3 CS sedan’s.

“From the very beginning, it was clear that the BMW M3 CS Touring would set new standards in dynamics. With a time under 7:30 minutes, this model impressively demonstrates that this vehicle concept perfectly combines racing DNA with everyday usability,” said BMW M CEO Franciscus van Meel.

As a reminder, the CS-badged M3 Touring employs the same engine as its ‘standard’ stablemate – BMW’s familiar 3l turbocharged inline-six. However, for the CS, the German marque has turned up the wick; increasing the peak power output to a healthier 405kW (up 15kW). Torque remains unchanged, with 650N.m delivered to both the fore and aft axle via via BMW’s eight-speed Steptronic transmission.

According to the Bavarian brand, the increase in power output, several mechanical revisions, and weight saving, the M3 CS Touring sprints to the three-figure marker from a standstill in just 3.5 seconds; an improvement of 0.1 seconds over the non-CS model. However, the CS’s 11.7-second 0-200km/h time eclipses the latter car’s by 1.2 seconds. In addition, the top speed has increased, from 280km/h to 300km/h.