BMW Lifts Covers On 2023 M3 Touring, Looks Back At E46 M3 Wagon Concept

There’s no such thing as a perfect car but with the launch of the 2023 BMW M3 Touring imminent, we’re getting close to being able to finally buy the car many of us think could be a serious contender.

And to get us revved up about the 2023 car, BMW M has dropped the first of a series of M3 Touring videos, kicking the season off by giving us a peek at the new car and a look back at the 2000 E46 M3 Touring Concept.

BMW M prototype engineer Hans Rahn and co-host, BMW M development engineer Dirk Häcker, wheel out the two-decade-old, one-off wagon study to give us a close look at what could have been, and throwing some light on why it didn’t get the go-ahead despite it clearly being an idea no sane person could turn down.

Looking sensational on the contemporary M3 coupe’s 18-inch wheels, the 2000 concept features the same arch flares and fender vents as the two-door M3, plus its quad exhaust setup and monster hood bulge, below which sits a 3.2-liter naturally aspirated straight six.

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But unlike the current M3/M4, which is already available in both coupe and four-door sedan forms, the E46 M3 was only available as a coupe or convertible, and Rahn says that would have made it complicated and expensive to convert to wagon. The E46 coupe’s front fenders are actually different to those on the sedan and Touring, and the rear arches would have required some serious retooling, plus new bumpers front and rear to match those wider fenders.

Let’s face it, if BMW had really wanted to make an M3 Touring happen 20 years ago it could have surmounted those hurdles. Our guess is that the money that could have brought the wagon concept to the street then was allocated to another far more boring project with the potential to make more cash.

But now it’s finally happening. Rahn and Häcker give us a sneak look at the rear end of the G81-code 2023 car when they lift a dust sheet up to reveal its diffuser and quad tailpipes, and then explain that the new rear spoiler was created with a 3D printer and painted to match the stealthy de-badged metallic gray bodywork.

We don’t yet know whether the 2023 M3 Touring will be available with both manual and automatic transmissions, or with a choice of rear- or all-wheel drive, all of which are options available to the M3 sedan buyers. But fuel consumption figures visible in the small print at the end of the video suggest the wagon will only come in Competition xDrive guise, which means 503 hp (375 kW / 510 PS) and 479 lb-ft (650 Nm) of torque, but compulsory all-wheel drive and no manual option.

Either way, it sounds likes we won’t have to wait long to find out. In the next video we’re promised a look at the first prototypes of the 2023 car and a look at how the project started.