BMW M3 Touring: this is the M3 we all want, but that BMW never made

Over the years, the concept of a sports car has adapted to all kinds of segments and body styles, which means that automotive history is full of vehicles that were as unexpected as high-performance SUVs once were. However, there is one sector that has a particular charm thanks to the remarkable way in which sportiness and versatility come together: sporty estates. Brands such as Audi have spent years working with this type of car, which has led many to look to BMW for an answer to that clear declaration of war.

The Bavarian house has offered high-performance vehicles in countless body styles since time immemorial, but the truth is that it has never diligently committed to this appealing combination that sporty estates provide. It’s true that the M5 E34 and E61 broke with tradition by coming as estates, but they were the only ones daring enough to do so, and since then, nothing.

Nevertheless, Nick, an Englishman who loves cars and had grown tired of waiting for BMW to do something about it, decided to build what many of us have dreamed of: an M3 Touring. It’s true that we had already seen this dedicated four-wheel enthusiast’s exploits on social media, but today we’ve gotten to know his machine better after Joe Achilles, a YouTuber and fellow countryman of Nick’s, revealed all the secrets of this long-awaited vehicle.

Starting from an ordinary 320d estate, Nick has applied countless modifications to turn it into an M3 from “bumper to bumper”. Besides the logical and corresponding swap to the inline six-cylinder engine that the F80 features, numerous changes have been carried out both on the exterior and on the rest of the mechanical components so that the car could properly handle the new power level it had reached.

Suspension, engine, cosmetic parts, wheel arches, exhaust, bonnet… absolutely everything has been changed so that this once-forgotten 320d becomes a car with M DNA. However, Nick did not want to waste the opportunity to give it a personal touch and make a “fine-tuning” adjustment to the engine to bring total output up to 520 CV.

https://youtu.be/rNoBO4atyes

We are still waiting for the new M3 and M4, and everything suggests that COVID-19 will make them wait even longer. Nevertheless, we haven’t lost hope that BMW will go after its main rivals and launch an estate version of the M3, a vehicle that would try to overcome the current Audi RS4 and Mercedes-AMG C 63 Estate.