2023 BMW M3 Touring revealed, confirmed for Australia

The 2023 BMW M3 Touring has been revealed, ahead of an Australian launch scheduled for Q1 2023 (January to March).

Two decades after a unique “E46” M3 Tour was built by BMWthe first serial production M3 The estate was unveiled, merging the mechanicals of the latest M3 “G80” sedan with the long-roof bodywork of the standard 3 Series Touring.

While the sedan can be offered in three drivetrain configurations – with both rear-wheel drive and manual transmission – the M3 Touring is available exclusively as a high-output Competition trim, with an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive.

The Competition badge endows the first M3 station wagon – or to give it its full name, M3 Competition Touring with M xDrive – with 375kW and 650Nm of 3.0-liter twin-turbo “S58” inline-6.

BMW claims a 0-100km/h sprint time of 3.6 seconds (a tenth slower than the sedan), a 0-200km/h time of 12.9 seconds and a top speed of 250km /h as standard, or 280 km/h with the sedan. Driver package M.

Its M xDrive all-wheel-drive system is shared with its sedan sibling, with a choice of a standard 4WD mode, 4WD Sport (which transfers more power to the rear) and a 2WD setting which disconnects the front axle and deactivates the stability control.

The M3 Touring benefits from a unique setting for its adaptive suspension – designed to take into account the extra weight on the rear axle – in addition to stiffer springs and a split of driving modes from Comfort to Sport Plus.

Performance elements carried over from the M3 Competition xDrive sedan include variable sport steering, limited-slip rear differential, aluminum underbody reinforcement and a multi-stage M traction control system.

The arches are filled with 19-inch front and 20-inch alloy wheels in an M3 Touring-specific forged design, wrapped in 275/35 front and 285/30 rear Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires . “Track tires” are available as an option.

M Compound six-piston front and single-piston rear brakes are standard – likely with 380mm front and 370mm rear discs, for the M3 saloon – which can be upgraded to optional carbon-ceramic discs (likely 400mm front and 380mm rear).

The styling of the M3 Touring is as the model name suggests: a high-performance M version of the 3 Series Touring, incorporating the unique M3 sedan front and rear ends, side skirts, quad exhaust tips and the hood.

Compared to the standard 3 Series Touring, it is 85mm longer thanks to new bumpers, 4mm lower and 76mm wider thanks to blistered rear wheel arches designed to accommodate the wider rear axle of the M3 sedan.

The roof is painted black regardless of which body color is chosen – although a body-coloured roof is optional – as are the black roof rails and the M3 Touring-specific ‘Gurney flap’ on top of its rear spoiler.

Inside, the M3 Touring benefits from the new iDrive 8 dashboard from the 2023 M3 Sedan, incorporating a 14.9-inch center touchscreen and 12.3-inch digital instrument display in a curved panel.

Other interior highlights include carbon fiber interior inlays, an M-specific gear selector and set of drive mode buttons, as well as M1 and M2 badging on the M3-specific steering wheel.

Front occupants sit in standard electrically adjustable M Sport seats, trimmed in Merino leather with heating and memory – with M Carbon bucket seats available as an option, which claim to save 9.6kg thanks to the carbon fiber reinforced plastic used in their records.

Boot space? There’s 500 liters behind the rear seats, which expands to 1510 liters with the 40:20:40 bench folded.

A hands-free power tailgate, underfloor storage, luggage net, separately opening rear window and auto-raising ‘skid’ rails to support cargo are all standard.

Other standard features will include tri-zone climate control, ambient interior lighting, auto-dimming mirrors and safety features Professional Driving Assistant including adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, parking sensors, lane centering assistant, automatic parking and traffic. light detection.

The 2023 BMW M3 Touring will arrive in Australia early next year, with pricing to be confirmed closer to launch.