BMW M3 Wagon Spied For Possibly The Last Time

BMW has just taken the wraps off its long-awaited M4 CSL, but that's not the only exciting sports car that BMW's M Division is revealing in this, its 50th-anniversary year. We're also looking forward to the M3 CS and the all-new M2. All of these exceptional machines will be coming to America, but there's a fourth new prospect that we won't get access to, namely the BMW M3 Touring. This is a model that BMW fanatics have been begging for over the past couple of decades, and now it's finally becoming a reality. The car is expected to be revealed next month, but it still has a little bit of tweaking to get through before then.

As was subtly confirmed in an official teaser image, the station wagon version of the M3 will be getting BMW's latest Operating System 8 (iDrive 8) infotainment system. That means a 12.3-inch screen ahead of the driver, flanked by a large 14.9-inch touchscreen display. Both are housed in a single curved unit. That earlier teaser as well as these new spy shots confirm that the wagon will be getting the same zany upholstery color options that the regular M3 and M4 have access to, and there will be plenty of carbon fiber in the cabin too. The gear selector is the same as those trunk-equipped cars too, but there will likely be an LCI (facelift) model in time, with BMW's new toggle-style selector switch.

We know that the M3 Touring will only be offered with M xDrive all-wheel drive, which suggests that the S58 3.0-liter twin-turbo straight-six engine will be tuned to the same level as the M3 and M4 Competition models. This means that, instead of "just" 473 horsepower and 406 lb-ft of torque, the wagon could produce 503 hp and 479 lb-ft of torque. Then again, BMW may add a little more grunt to the powertrain to cope with the unavoidable weight increase of the extended bodywork. We'll know more very soon as BMW M gets its celebratory releases on the world stage for all to see and judge.