BMW that's just mean M3 Estate/24hr Nürburgring

[Car-Addicted]

You won't send these to the states but you will race one at 24hr Nürburgring, rubbing sand in the wound.

BMW M Motorsport
Mar 16
You dreamed it. We built it. The BMW M3 Touring 24H.
What began as an April Fools’ joke turned into reality after your overwhelming demand in 2025.
This beast is ready to take on the 24 Hours of Nürburgring—one race only.

[Car-Addicted]

The wagon. The drivers.

This squad will push the BMW M3 Touring 24H through the Green Hell. See it happen at the 24h Nürburgring (May 14–17).

The BMW M3 Touring 24H. You dreamed it. #WeBuiltIt

[M-technik-3]

I think I would have to sell a kidney,

[Car-Addicted]

Remember this? Some times it's not about the wins, It's about the ink!
Volvo 850 Estate BTCC 1994 | Full Tech Specs & Performance of the Wagon that Shocked Motorsport

[NWH83]

It's a miracle, I can almost look past the bucktooth fascia.

[NickyC]

Meh, might as well race boats.

[Car-Addicted]

Originally Posted by NWH83

It's a miracle, I can almost look past the bucktooth fascia.

It's no secret, I'm not a fan of the BMW pig snout but I would have gone All in with a M3 Estate if it came to America, snout and all. I can come up with a new avatar. Had to settle for a X5 when I realized BMW just isn't going to share the Estate love with us SUV crazy Americans.
I so miss my BMW 318i Mspec Estate, should have built a bigger garage.

[ppointer]

Car-Addicted 100%. I'm so salty over the wagon embargo that I purchased two new non-BMW's in 2025 -- a GMC and a Lexus, either of which could have been a new BMW. Voting with my wallet. My next new car will be a G61 or another non-BMW. I have a letter I am about to mail to Mr. Mackensen stating as much.

Before someone says "go buy an M5 Touring", I refuse to buy a PHEV or a "car" that weighs 5300lbs, and have no desire to drive a 700+ hp car on the street. A 540i touring will do me just fine, and their refusal to import an existing (and US-certifiable) product is just being stubborn and greedy.

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by Car-Addicted

It's no secret, I'm not a fan of the BMW pig snout but I would have gone All in with a M3 Estate if it came to America, snout and all. I can come up with a new avatar. Had to settle for a X5 when I realized BMW just isn't going to share the Estate love with us SUV crazy Americans.
I so miss my BMW 318i Mspec Estate, should have built a bigger garage.

Originally Posted by ppointer

Car-Addicted 100%. I'm so salty over the wagon embargo that I purchased two new non-BMW's in 2025 -- a GMC and a Lexus, either of which could have been a new BMW. Voting with my wallet. My next new car will be a G61 or another non-BMW. I have a letter I am about to mail to Mr. Mackensen stating as much.

Before someone says "go buy an M5 Touring", I refuse to buy a PHEV or a "car" that weighs 5300lbs, and have no desire to drive a 700+ hp car on the street. A 540i touring will do me just fine, and their refusal to import an existing (and US-certifiable) product is just being stubborn and greedy.

Explained last year: "And tell the [US] dealers next time when we ask the question that they say ‘thumbs up, we want an M3 Touring.'"

"Confirmed: BMW M3 Touring (G81) Will Never Come to the US
BMW M confirms the G81 M3 Touring will never come to America, despite strong demand. Here’s why the U.S. market missed out on the ultimate performance wagon."
BMWBlog – March 13, 2025
https://www.bmwblog.com/2025/03/13/b...-america-2025/

"BMW Explains Why America Gets The M5 Touring But Not The M3 Touring
M boss Frank van Meel tells us the reasoning behind the decision the G99 was preferred over the G81."
BMWBlog – November 3, 2025
https://www.bmwblog.com/2025/11/03/b...no-m3-touring/

[Toad]

Where can I watch the onboard livestream?

[Robin_NL]

This is Max(AMG GT3) onboard live:

Cheers
Robin

[Straykiwi]

Originally Posted by Artemis

Explained last year: "And tell the [US] dealers next time when we ask the question that they say ‘thumbs up, we want an M3 Touring.'"

"Confirmed: BMW M3 Touring (G81) Will Never Come to the US
BMW M confirms the G81 M3 Touring will never come to America, despite strong demand. Here’s why the U.S. market missed out on the ultimate performance wagon."


"BMW Explains Why America Gets The M5 Touring But Not The M3 Touring

I carefully read and re-read those articles, and IMO the official excuses come across as lame and dismissive.

I think the American market can support such comparatively low expected sales volume because, you know, the market is frikken huge. Maybe it is because BMW are afraid G81 will steal sales from their other cars with better margins and they don't want to admit it?

[jaffles]

I'm up for a wagon in the GT3. Nothing better that the ol family tourer sticking to the young's mans two door.

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by Car-Addicted

You won't send these to the states but you will race one at 24hr Nürburgring, rubbing sand in the wound.

Europeans love wagons.
They offer a healthy compromise for those who have to have just one car in the driveway (or parked outside an apartment building).

In the US, we buy multiple cars for multiple needs. And wagon sales always struggle. I remember a conversation with a BMW marketing guy a decade or so ago, and the answer boiled down to: there is a demand for <5,000 luxury wagons in all of the US. That's enough for one German automaker to barely break even if their brought a wagon to the US (at the time either Audi or Mercedes were doing it). If more than 2 import wagons, they all are guaranteed to lose money.

Originally Posted by Straykiwi

I carefully read and re-read those articles, and IMO the official excuses come across as lame and dismissive.

Yet, it was 100% factual.

Originally Posted by Straykiwi

I think the American market can support such comparatively low expected sales volume because, you know, the market is frikken huge.

Not for the wagons, it isn't.
BTW, the US vehicle market is highly cyclical (correleated with economic cycles), but overall, it's been either stagnant or mildly declining.

Actively reducing the number of potential customers over the past 15 months has certainly not helped matters.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/TOTALSA


More here:
https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a6...rket-analysis/

a

[G30M]

is the Touring racing under GT3 class or some other rubbish category?

[Toad]

Originally Posted by Toad

Where can I watch the onboard livestream?

Still waiting..

[NWH83]

De Wilde posted a few on-board clips but that's all I've seen so far:

[Ohio Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by afadeev

I remember a conversation with a BMW marketing guy a decade or so ago, and the answer boiled down to: there is a demand for <5,000 luxury wagons in all of the US

...

More here:
https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a6...rket-analysis/

The Road and Track article you linked claims a 0.2% market for luxury wagons, which is over 30,000 units, so one stat is wrong (and judging by the number of Buick Regal wagons (and older 3 series and non AMG E class) I have in my zero-car-culture corner of Ohio I'm betting the BMW marketing guy is wrong).

I'm of the strong opinion that there's a very big difference between what enthusiasts harp about in forums and comments and what they actually buy, but niche car segments are full of "we tried to bring cool-car-x but nobody was buying them so we stopped", when in actuality they brought a single spec, in low numbers, for one year, with zero marketing and without actually offering what people would actually want to buy. Want a manual? It's either the cheapest poverty spec possible (reminds me of the Genesis G70 I test drove. It was nice but base engine and no LSD) or the most expensive high end model. Want a wagon? It's the lifted, black plastic clad verity or the $122,000 3 ton version. I understand that diversity of products costs money to the manufacturer in regulation and supply chain, but it's not like they're not already making these wagons - they're still fairly popular in Europe (although declining there as well) so allocating an extra 10,000 units to the US shouldn't be such a huge strain.

The real question we need to ask ourselves is - if manufacturer X offers a sedan and an SUV, but not a wagon, would you compromise and buy the sedan or the SUV instead? If yes, then we lost our consumer power. Porsche enthusiast in the US proved that collective buying power can change manufacturer plans - they brought back the 911 GT3's manual transmission and put their money where their mouth is (with a 70% manual take rate in the US vs. 30% in the rest of the world).

[Car-Addicted]

Originally Posted by Ohio Enthusiast

I have in my zero-car-culture corner of Ohio I'm betting the BMW marketing guy is wrong).

Hard to tell but I do know this, if there are no wagons to buy it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

[ppointer]

Originally Posted by Ohio Enthusiast

The Road and Track article you linked claims a 0.2% market for luxury wagons, which is over 30,000 units, so one stat is wrong (and judging by the number of Buick Regal wagons (and older 3 series and non AMG E class) I have in my zero-car-culture corner of Ohio I'm betting the BMW marketing guy is wrong).

I'm of the strong opinion that there's a very big difference between what enthusiasts harp about in forums and comments and what they actually buy, but niche car segments are full of "we tried to bring cool-car-x but nobody was buying them so we stopped", when in actuality they brought a single spec, in low numbers, for one year, with zero marketing and without actually offering what people would actually want to buy. Want a manual? It's either the cheapest poverty spec possible (reminds me of the Genesis G70 I test drove. It was nice but base engine and no LSD) or the most expensive high end model. Want a wagon? It's the lifted, black plastic clad verity or the $122,000 3 ton version. I understand that diversity of products costs money to the manufacturer in regulation and supply chain, but it's not like they're not already making these wagons - they're still fairly popular in Europe (although declining there as well) so allocating an extra 10,000 units to the US shouldn't be such a huge strain.

The real question we need to ask ourselves is - if manufacturer X offers a sedan and an SUV, but not a wagon, would you compromise and buy the sedan or the SUV instead? If yes, then we lost our consumer power. Porsche enthusiast in the US proved that collective buying power can change manufacturer plans - they brought back the 911 GT3's manual transmission and put their money where their mouth is (with a 70% manual take rate in the US vs. 30% in the rest of the world).

When the F31 came out, you were limited to the 4-cylinder, AWD, and AT, along with some pretty lame steering feel. My choice then was to buy a used E91.

Faced with the choice of a G60 x-drive or X5, I said screw it and checked out the Lexus and Acura dealerships. Sure, no wagons there either, but they want my business. Happy with the IS350 I bought. My next BMW will be a G61, meaning if they don't bring it here, I buy elsewhere. I sent a letter to NA BMW CEO stating i have, and will continue to, vote with my wallet. If they think they have a captive sales audience, they are not correct.