Although wagons aren’t selling well in the States, the same can’t be said for the European markets. Jaguar made a bold move and introduced the XF Sportbrake Stateside in 2017, but took it off the market recently due to poor sales. However, the European markets are gearing up for an exciting offering from the only German automaker who didn’t have a performance wagon in its lineup until now.

We’re talking about BMW and the upcoming M3 Touring. The company confirmed that the wagon will arrive by 2022. It was also recently spotted testing near Nurburgring. Do Audi and Mercedes have anything to worry about?

2021 BMW M3 Touring

Specifications
  • Make: Array
  • Model: 2021 BMW M3 Touring
  • [do not use] Vehicle Model: Array

Is This The First BMW Performance Wagon?

The M3 Touring was first spied in Munich back in August and the company said it will be heading to the Green Hell for some testing. Although it didn’t happen back then, the M3 finally hit the ‘Ring recently. In all fairness, this can be considered as BMW’s second attempt at coming up with an M version of a wagon.

Back in 2000, the German automaker developed the E46 M3 Touring but it never reached production, and the one-off example built was used for internal purposes. Two decades later, someone in the company would’ve probably reminded the corporate overlords that they have an unfinished product in their arsenal.

What Does The M3 Touring Look Like?

The front fascia is almost identical to the M3 and the M4. The bumper is equally aggressive to its sedan and coupe siblings. The example spied even featured LED headlights.

Despite the camouflage, the sharp cuts and creases are pretty much visible all around the body. While the rear and front overhangs aren’t enormous, the wagon does have a long wheelbase. The side skirts further give a low-slung vibe to the M3 Touring. This example was riding on some pretty big wheels that seem to have filled wheel arches fully. Not to mention, the black wheels look sexy. Overall, the side profile looks proportionate.

The rear bumper protrudes out extensively or gives the illusion in the spy shots. It features a not-so-subtle quartet of round exhaust tips. There seems to be a shark fin antenna here, but one can also see an antenna at the back on the right side. It could be for testing purposes only. As for the taillights, they look familiar, don’t they?

What Could Power The 2022 BMW M3 Touring?

BMW has not revealed any details about engine specs for the M3 Touring, but expect it to feature the same mill seen under the hood of the standard M3. This means the base M3 Touring could be powered by a 3.0-liter, twin-turbo V-6 that churns out 473 horses and 405 pound-feet of torque.

There is a high possibility of BMW launching a Competition version of the M3 Touring, just like for the sedan. In the latter’s case, it made 503 ponies and 479 pound-feet of torque.

Expect the same power outputs here as well, but due to the size and weight, it could be slightly slower than its sedan counterpart. The 2021 M3 takes 4.1 clicks to hit the 60 mph mark from a standstill, whereas the M3 Competition takes just 3.8 seconds. In the case of the M3 Touring, these figures could be two- to three-tenths of a second slower.

A six-speed manual transmission seems to be the most logical option – for the base model at least, but some reports suggest that BMW will only offer an all-wheel-drive model with two pedals on the M3 Touring.

BMW Is Expanding The M Lineup

The M3 Touring isn’t the only new vehicle from the company’s performance division; BMW also confirmed that the i4 will receive the M badge next year, making it the first M electric car from the automaker. That one, too, was spied recently. However, it won’t be a full-fledged M model like the M3, M4, etc. Instead, it will be the M version of the i4, something like the M350i or the M550i.

Final Thoughts

BMW finally seems to have an answer to the Audi RS4 Avant and the Mercedes-AMG C63 Estate. The M3 Touring is expected to hit the showrooms sometime in 2022. Unless BMW springs a surprise, don’t expect it to arrive on our shores.