If there is one car that BMW should build, then it has to be a BMW M3 Touring. The M Wagon has been a dream of many generations, but the story has always been the same – there is no market for it or a decent business case. So as no surprise, tuning companies have taken on the challenge to build their own version of an M3 Touring.
But there is one company that took things further. Sander is the owner of the Dutch aftermarket parts company, Fullcartuning and he developed his very own BMW M3 CS Touring, a car that was revealed at the 2019 Essen Motor Show.
To make this BMW M3 CS Touring (F81), Sander took a donor BMW M3 CS and combined it with a standard BMW 3 Series Touring. It was obviously quite a bit more complicated than that, as the M3 CS’ fenders had to be welded onto the wagon and powertrains had to be swapped.
According to Sander, a 2013 BMW 316d with a blown engine was used as a donor car, while the drivetrain, bumpers, and interior were taken from a wrecked BMW M3 CS with just 3100 miles on the clock.
Therefore, the power output is 453 horsepower and 443 lb-ft of torque from a twin-turbo straight-six, getting to the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.
The BMW M3 CS Touring also gets a special grey paint from the BMW Individual Catalog along with 20-inch monoblock wheels. A set of KW lowering springs were added to enhance the car’s ride. On the visual front, the M3 CS Touring also gets a carbon fiber splitter, a carbon fiber diffuser and an Eventuri intake system.
Sander says that he plans to add an aftermarket exhaust system in the future, to give the car the sound it deserves. Unfortunately, this is just 1-of-1 but we’re hoping that one day BMW will give us the car we’ve been dreaming about.
Click below for some exclusive photos and an exclusive video!
[Video: 4thewheels | Photos: timvanraaiphotography]
This is probably the best M3 ever. It really is a shame that BMW M never built this car. But hey, you never know, we might get one in the future… At least Alpina now makes glorious fast BMW wagons!
Alpina does make some glorious touring.
There is just one catch to the Alpina. No manual and no rwd. Alpinas are fast understatment business cruisers. Enthusiasts that strive for steering feel, connection, intoxicating sound and dynamic driving are not exactly their customers these days.
This was different with the e30 B3 or the e36 B8 but now they differ a lot from what an M3 represents.
The Alpina B3 touring is with S58 engine !!! Just flare the fenders and there you have it, M3 Toring.
But who will swap my manual in it and remove the xDrive?
It’s not that easy with so many electronic parts integrated to remove the dreadful zf8hp.
Don’t make me laugh , this is the easyest mode you could do.
You don’t understand. I want to get rid of the weight and the complexity. I want a light front end and not additional weight of axles, bearings, diff additional prop shaft, center diff, clutch… all this nonsense can go. I don’t want it.
In short i want an engaging sports car powertrain instead of a SUV auto awd combo.
It’s one of the easiest mods , there is a lot of information about how to remove xDrive , but I wonder why since it’s already very rear biased , you don’t need to remove it but add the rear M diff for more fun and agility . The launch with xDrive is constant and easy , try to launch 500 hp on rwd in the wet or in the damp, or try to keep the car stable while full trotle . It’s impossible without 4WD. RWD is good for lighter smaller cars like e30, e36, 3 series maybe but G21 touring is like a whale in comparioson to these. If you think enough you’ll realise the same . M5 is faster on the track with MxDrive , why? It puts the power down better , because it’s heavy it just needs 4WD. Gues what G21 M340i touring weights 1800 kg just 100 kg less than M5 , do you still think that M3 touring would be sharper of faster without 4WD , well I don’t.
It is not only about being faster. On the street you reach any speed limit within less than 5 seconds. Unless you’re in Germany like i am and in a region with little to no snow. Xdrive is 95% of my drives useless dead weight. I WANT the car to have a on the edge of traction. This is a main giggle factor for my M140i – getting it right on the edge, feeling the rear subframe move (actually a weak point of the chassis). I want the steering feel free from any drivetrain torque and weight. Last time i drove xDrive vs Standard was in the F10 and the awd one felt a lot more heavy on the front end. Turn in was a bit slow and the overall cornering abilities were unpleasant. When journalists say BMW has become boring or sterile it’s because of these things: SUVs, automatics, awd and dead steering.
Be honest, you are not going to buy an new car and rip half the drivetrain out or do you? I want to buy a car that is good at the first day and not a project that will cost almost half of the new car price.
Go to Alpina, tell them what you want and I am sure they can make you the car that you want. I believe they will want to add one more happy customer. B3 Touring F30 was available with both RWD and 4WD. And on top of that Alpina offers more connected feeling to the road, more steering feel too .Check out this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqTdasaA6H0
The B3 Touring is a great car for sure
I think that this is due to collaboration between BMW and Alpina , and they’d decided the sporty wagons to be part of Allina portfolio as they are supposed to be more easily to drive and more road focused , rather than M cars which are supposed to be track instruments and believe me here in Europa they are, the tracks are full with M cars , so people really push them to their limits on the track. And given that I think wagon isn’t a good Idea, it would add some extra weight and the car would be over 2 tons maybe 2000-2100 kg and the weight would be in the wrong place . Whereas Alpina don’t really care about the weight , they just build autobahn misles , as fast as possible the certain car could be for the autobahn and as comfortable and luxurious as it could be. And believe me I would choose Alpina wagon over every bmw M wagon. There is so much more sense . 4 steering wheels , insanely good materials for the interior , redesigned suspension , hands build engine, are just some of the things that make Alpina cars so special to own if you don’t go racing . And with 608 hp 0-100 in 3.5s the Alpina B5 Touring is just as quick as RS6, but much faster on the autobahn 330km/h vs 260 km /h(for the standard rs6).
A wagon is a good idea because i’d rather take a 120kg penalty and a drag coefficient slightly worse than the alternative BMW tries to sell us: the X3M. That pesky blob weights 200kg more than the Touring, sits higher and has a terrible drag coefficient. Anyone who needs a better trunk accessibility the Touring is a great offering and this thing in a Pure configuration with a manual and rwd only should make it a dream. This thing could weight “just” 1600kg without even using expensive carbon bits.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/abe0dba1a4b6903de18fd2631de684b5d5275c9788221b79fb89a9335d8211db.jpg
Wish they would make this car it’s beautiful. They would sell like hot cakes.
Will it though? Not in the US.