Article Summary
- The next BMW M3 Touring carries the internal codename G88, with final approval reportedly secured.
- Launch is expected late 2028 to early 2029, with a genuine US business case this time around, helped by the M5 Touring's strong American sales.
- Expect Neue Klasse design cues, an updated S58 with mild-hybrid assist near 550 hp, and a debut tied to the G51 3 Series arriving around 2027.
The next generation BMW M3 Touring already has a name, and it’s G88. We’ve been sitting on this one for a while, holding off until we were confident the car had actually been given the final go-ahead internally. So we’re hearing that the G88 M3 Touring is coming, and if we’re honest, nobody should be surprised.
Why This Was Never Really In Doubt
The current G81 M3 Touring has been one of the best-received cars in the M lineup since it arrived in 2022. It’s also been the subject of one of the loudest grassroots campaigns in recent BMW enthusiast history, with the US community petitioning BMW directly to bring the wagon stateside. That campaign hasn’t worked for the current generation,but it showed BMW how much demand there was for it in America. That miscalculation appears to be shaping how the G88 program is being approached this time around.
It also helps that BMW USA already has a data point telling it wagons sell: the M5 Touring has done well here, and that success is reportedly part of what’s giving the G88 business case its legs stateside.
The other reason none of this is surprising: the G51 3 Series is expected to arrive around 2027, which hands the M division the platform it needs to build a Touring variant in the first place. With the sedan’s timeline reportedly locked in, the wagon’s existence stops being a question of if and becomes a question of when and how it’s built.
That “when” currently points to late 2028 or early 2029 for the first markets, with the US now said to have its own business case rather than being an afterthought bolted on after European launch. If that timing holds, expect the first prototypes to start showing up in testing sometime in 2027.
What It Should Look Like
Nothing is locked in on design yet, but the expectation is a full Neue Klasse treatment, inside and out. That means the current M3’s large kidney grille is likely on its way out, replaced by the horizontal, elongated kidney shape debuting on the Neue Klasse i3 and 3 Series. Beyond that, expect the visual language that’s becoming standard on new M cars: yellow headlight accents, quad exhaust pipes, flared hips, and a stance that doesn’t try to hide what it is.
An Updated S58 Under The Hood
No surprises expected here either. The G88 is likely to carry an updated version of the S58, paired with a mild-hybrid setup, landing somewhere around 550 horsepower. Power should go through an 8-speed automatic and all-wheel drive, continuing the formula the G80/G81 generation established.
We’ll keep digging on specifics as the G51 3 Series timeline firms up, since everything about the M3 Touring’s design and debut window is tied directly to it.
