BMW M3 Touring 24H: From April Fools' Joke to Nürburgring Race Reality by 2026
The BMW M3 Touring 24H racing wagon, which was shown as an April Fool's joke a year ago, has become a reality. The car will start at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring in 2026.
What is known
The car is built on the basis of the BMW M4 GT3 EVO racing coupe, which allowed the BMW M Motorsport division to speed up development. However, engineers had to create an entirely new station wagon body made of carbon fiber (CFRP).
Due to the peculiarities of the body, new windows and decorative rear doors were developed. The front doors were shortened, and the rear wing was moved further back to compensate for the aerodynamic features of the wagon.
The BMW M3 Touring 24H has a P58 engine - a 3.0-liter inline-six developing up to 590 hp and 700 Nm of torque. Power is transferred to the rear wheels through a six-speed X-trac sequential gearbox.
Interestingly, the production BMW M3 Touring has an xDrive all-wheel-drive system, while the racing version is rear-wheel drive.
The development of the car took only eight months. Despite the shared platform with the BMW M4 GT3 EVO, the wagon turned out to be 200 mm longer and 32 mm taller than the coupe. Otherwise, the cars are almost identical and meet the technical requirements of the GT3 category.
Testing of the racing wagon has already started. In the near future, the car will hit the track as part of the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie.
Factory drivers Jens Klingmann, Ugo de Wilde, Connor De Phillippi, and Neil Verhagen will take turns driving.
The Schubert Motorsport team will field the BMW M3 Touring 24H in the SPX class, while the BMW M4 GT3 EVO coupe will compete for victory in the SP9 class.
The 24 Hours of Nürburgring race will take place May 16–17 on the famous Nürburgring Nordschleife track in Germany.
Source: BMW
