BMW Actually Listens To Enthusiasts And Builds M3 Wagon Race Car

What started as a playful concept—the BMW M3 Touring GT—is now headed to one of motorsport’s toughest and purest events: the 24 Hours of Nürburgring.

Last year, BMW revealed the wagon-shaped race car on April 1 as a tongue-in-cheek rendering meant to entertain enthusiasts. Naturally, the reaction online was rabid, immediate, and overwhelmingly positive. People loved the idea of a race-ready M wagon—no, the record-setting M3 CS Touring is not race-ready—so BMW decided to actually build one.

According to BMW, engineers had explored the idea of a motorsport version of the M3 Touring shortly after the production wagon debuted. When the April Fool’s concept received massive attention, the company decided to enjoy the PR gains from bringing the idea to life.

BMW approved the project in August and began development in September, giving engineers less than a year to transform the concept into a race-ready machine. Testing began recently, and the wagon is expected to compete in the SPX class at the Nürburgring 24 Hours this May.

The SPX class entry allows the experimental model to compete outside the standard GT3 homologated category used by the M4. After its Nürburgring debut, BMW says the M3 Touring GT will likely appear at additional events and promotional activities.

Under the skin, the M3 Touring GT isn’t an entirely new race platform. Instead, its bones are basically a BMW M4 GT3 EVO, meaning most of the mechanical components and performance specifications remain the same.

Power comes from BMW’s turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six, producing up to 590 horsepower in race trim. The biggest difference is the bodywork, which uses a carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic shell shaped to resemble the M3 Touring wagon.

"A project like the BMW M3 Touring 24H has never existed at BMW M Motorsport before," said Andreas Roos, Head of BMW M Motorsport. “I am thrilled – and at the same time, I am certain that our fans, who are never closer to us than at our second home on the Nürburgring, will be just as excited. I promise all fans a great show and look forward to an event of superlatives.”

The BMW M3 Touring 24H will make its racing debut next weekend as part of the Nürburgring Langstrecken Serie (NLS) in preparation for the twice-around-the-clock contest in May. The car will be fielded by Schubert Motorsport, with four BMW M works drivers at the wheel: Jens Klingmann, Ugo de Wilde, Connor De Phillippi, and Neil Verhagen.

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