The all-new BMW M3 Touring is almost upon us. And as if there’s still not enough hype surrounding the sports wagon, BMW has announced that the upcoming M3 Touring is now the fastest production wagon to ever lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife, with a time of 7:35.06 minutes around the Green Hell in the hands of BMW M driving dynamics development driver Jörg Weidinger.
To put it into context, that’s more than 10 seconds faster than German rival Mercedes-AMG C 63 S Estate (unofficial by Sport Auto, 7:45.19), and about half a second quicker than the 1,020 hp Tesla Model S Plaid (7:35.579). You can check out the full list of official record times here.
It’s still some ways off the incredible 7:20.207 lap set by the M4 CSL, but make no mistake – the 7:35 time is still incredibly quick, especially for a car that can carry five adults fairly comfortably, with enough luggage room for a weekend trip at the back.
For the record to count, the car has to be exactly the same as it’ll eventually come out from the assembly line, even though it’s wearing a camouflage wrap. TÜV Rheinland was on-site to inspect the car before the run, and a notary was also present to validate the information and measured time.
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The BMW M3 Touring, which will make its debut at the upcoming Goodwood Festival of Speed, is expected to use the same powertrain found in the G80 M3 Competition xDrive, with an S58 3.0-litre twin-turbo inline-six engine underneath its bonnet delivering 510 hp and 650 Nm.
Power is sent to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission (and probably a six-speed manual, too), and an M-specific xDrive all-wheel drive system.
Goodwood Festival is only a couple of days away from now, but we really, really can’t wait already.
