- M3 CS Touring is a wagon version of last year’s CS sedan
- S58 inline six tuned to 543 hp, drives all four wheels through a mandatory auto
- Aero upgrades and suspension tweaks increase cornering speeds
BMW hadn’t sold a Touring version of a real M car for years until the current M3 appeared in 2022. But now it’s making up for lost time and is getting ready to reveal three new hot wagons. One is the M5, another is the mildly facelifted M3 Touring, and the third is the car you see here, the CS Touring.
As its name suggests, the wickedest 3-Series wagon yet is a shooting brake version of the M3 CS sedan BMW launched last year, and will feature most of the same aesthetic and functional mods to make it sharper to drive than the base Touring, without compromising on cargo capacity.
Related: New BMW M5 Touring Confirmed For USA
Unlike the M4 CSL coupe, which comes only in rear-wheel drive, the CS sedan is restricted to xDrive all-wheel drive and automatic transmission, the same configuration already used by the regular M3 Touring. But what the CS does inherit from the CSL is the same S58 3.0-liter bi-turbo six that’s tuned to deliver 543 hp (550 PS).
That gives it a healthy 40 hp (40 PS) advantage over the current M3 Touring, but the gap will narrow soon when that ordinary M3 Touring gets the same bump from 503 hp (510 PS) to 523 hp (530 PS) that the M4 has just been given. BMW quotes a 3.2-second zero to 62 mph (100 km/h) time for the CS sedan and the wagon is unlikely to be more than a tenth slower.
The last time we spied a CS Touring prototype it still had an ordinary M3 grille, but this latest test car has the CS-specific grille bars that, together with the aggressive front splitter, give the front end an even angrier look. Other upgrades will include changes to the suspension geometry and a cast aluminum strut brace. But BMW probably won’t offer a carbon roof on the wagon.
Back in September, we reported on a rumor that fewer than 2,000 CS Tourings will be produced and that even building such a low number of cars could be a struggle due to production capacity constraints. Sadly, no matter how many BMW does build, it won’t be offering any of them in North America, where the plain M3 Touring is also a no-show.
It’s not all bad news, though. BMW has confirmed that the upcoming M5 Touring will be available in the U.S.
