BMW Unveils M3 Touring Racer for Nürburgring 24H

BMW has transformed a popular April Fools' Day prank into a reality by unveiling a racing version of its M3 Touring wagon, set to compete in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring endurance race later this month.

The project, dubbed the BMW M3 Touring 24H, stems from a social media post the company shared on April 1 last year. Images of a race-prepared M3 wagon, complete with oversized tires and a prominent rear wing, quickly went viral, reaching more than one million users and generating over 1.6 million views. The overwhelming fan enthusiasm prompted BMW to greenlight the idea, accelerating a concept the automaker had already explored in 2022 when the road-going M3 Touring debuted.

Development of the race car took just eight months, with work beginning in September after internal approval in August. The vehicle shares its core technical specifications with the BMW M4 GT3 EVO, including a 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-six engine producing up to 590 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. Power is delivered to the rear wheels through an XTrac six-speed sequential transmission. To adapt the wagon body, engineers extended the chassis by 200 millimeters and increased its height by 32...