Words by Marcus Boothby
So, the news is that BMW are apparently planning an estate version of the upcoming M3, which will be very closely related to the upcoming M4. This is not bad news as BMW have been teasing the idea of an M3 estate for many, many years now. Hell, they even did a few M5 estates, with the last being powered by a horrendously unreliable V10.
However, BMW has since focused on go-faster versions of their SUV family, with the X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 all getting M models, which defeats the point of the M badge as the SUVs have no heritage to them whatsoever. Things like the M140i, M3, M5 etc are fine as there was a pre-existing market for sporty saloons and hatchbacks for as long as we can remember, as there have been for sporty estates. You can thank Audi for that.
But yes, back to the subject matter of the M3 estate. It’s finally happening. With Audi, Mercedes and other manufactures dipping their toes into the fast estate market, BMW have been missing out…especially when it comes to a proper RS4 and C63 AMG estate rival. Sure, the M3 saloon has existed to rival these cars, but people also want an estate.
This is the new M3 saloon. Imagine this with the Touring body and you’ve got an idea of what the M3 Touring will look like.
Image above shared from Instagram - User @race356/Andreas Mau
So anyway, the M3 estate, or Touring, will launch in 2022, after the M3 Saloon, M4 Coupe and M4 Convertible have their launches in the next two years, but then again, why wait? By 2022, a new C-Class should be launched, and hopefully Audi brings out a new A4 meaning, new AMG and RS models. I just have the feeling that BMW have left this a little late. Granted, the current 3-Series debuted less than two years ago, but this has allowed the C-Class and next-gen A4 more time to develop.
Spec wise, the standard powertrain for the M3/M4 family will be BMW’s familiar S58 3.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine, which in basic guise offers 473bhp and in ‘Competition’ guise, offers 503bhp. The platform will also offer RWD and AWD, along with the choice of a manual or automatic gearboxes. It’s unclear what will be offered with the M3 Touring, but hopefully, the choices are the same for the Touring, along with the M3 saloon.
So far, BMW have only teased us with a shadowy image of the back end of the car, but an easy way to think of how the M3 Touring will look, visualise a M340i Touring, but with slightly more aggressive styling, and potentially the front end from the new 4-series.
Pricing isn’t clear yet, but expect it to cost much more than the M340i Touring, which starts at just under £52,000. We expect the M3 Touring to start at somewhere between £60,000-70,000 which isn’t cheap, but then that would put it on par with the Audi RS4 and Mercedes C63 AMG estate.