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Rumor: BMW M3 Wagon Being Considered

By / 27 Jan 2011 / 43 Comments

We have seen BMW build limited edition runs of the ///M3 in many markets. From the ///M3 “Edition”, to the “Tiger Edition” in China and even the matte grey version for the US, so why not build a “Sportwagon” ///M3? Rumors are floating around that ///M may be toying with this idea and that they had built a tester early on in the E9X development so it is a distinct possibility.

For all of you getting ready to say that there would be too much work required- not really, it would just be the rear quarters of the sheet metal and the rest would be bolt ons (sound familiar?). The real question is if the car would sell. If this limited run of less than a hundred for worldwide sales is even to be formally considered BMW would need to at least break even on the car. This means it would have a fairly significant price premium over other models (our best guess would be around $65k with a full carbon fiber roof). If you factor in the limited numbers, the practicality and performance that is actually significantly less than say even an X5 ///M so while expensive it is not astronomical.

As wagon lovers we are all for an M3 wagon, it would be a way for wagons (at least in the US) to go out with a BANG! and be the answer to the CTS-V, Mercedes and Audi performance wagons that are currently running around with no competition from BMW. Will the market support such a car is an entirely different question and more than likely the answer will be one that we rather not hear.

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Posted in: //M3\\, Rumor
  • Drill

    WOW, this would make me think twice about getting a 1M!

  • http://www.zhpregistry.net ZHPRegistry

    I am a bit confused, would this be for the current gen M3 or the future one?

    • Me

      current.. doesn’t it look the same to you anyway?

  • http://bimmerfile.com Michael

    This would be for the current generation hence the E code reference. The next generation is F3X.

  • http://www.zhpregistry.net ZHPRegistry

    Ok, my confusion isn’t around the E vs F code, but the fact that we are so far along the current generation time line.

    • http://bimmerfile.com Michael

      M is making the 1M in the final year of production so it is never too late. The E91 would only require wider rear fenders as the rest has been engineered and is essentially plug and play with the sedan. As I said in the post it would send the wagons out to pasture with a bang.

  • Mark

    I would sign on the dotted line in 2 seconds. Though we do have 335i wagon here in Europe. But an ///M is a totally different beast.

  • Drill

    This is one M that DEFINITELY won’t be offered through Military Sales, lol.

  • HERR26

    They did build one back in 2008 whether it remains in Garching or in another BMW facility in Munich I can’t say. They originally evaluated the Touring in place of the sedan , but the US wanted the Sedan not the Touring. It was conceived due to the the competition which had Audi’s RS4 and the Mercedes-Benz C55 AMG (W204 AMG was not available at this time), BMW reckoned that they need to be part of this market and that there are customers who would want an M with increased flexibility.

    However customers who wanted an M3 Touring just went instead for the M5 Touring. Whilst the onus is on no model for the F11 , they have built one for review and evaluation just as there was not originally meant to be a Touring E61 – Until the BMW Board saw it.

  • Mahlzeit

    Great an even heavier M3.

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  • JonPD

    Lets hope it has legs to the rumor and also hope that unlike the M5 Touring that it actually comes here.

  • HERR26

    The problem is time. Whereas the 1M had a conception-development-launch of just under two years, for the M3 Touring it is a bit late in the day especially when the all new 3er Sedan will be unveiled before the end of the year. The plan for the F31 3er Touring is to follow the same window as the F11 launch it within six months which will put the launch in April and possibly again like the F11 it would launch at the AMI in Leipzig , again in the Touring’s largest market – Germany.

    Of course the stumbling block for the car is that with Touring sales in the US not as successful as Europe that they would not federalize the car considering BMW will stop producing the E91 for the US later this summer.

  • chad

    could this be a market tester to further gauge interest for a F3X GT as has been also rumored?

    @ Michael- any idea when further information would come out to substantiate this either way? Where in the pipeline is this project? (I realize you likely do not know and/or cannot say, but I thought I’d ask)

    • http://bimmerfile.com Michael

      First- the information that Herr has stated is accurate from what I have heard coming out of Munich as far as the history of this project and the future exit of the wagon.

      While it may be late in the day for such a car to enter development, it is not if the car has already been developed. The E91 M variant has already been developed as Herr also stated, it takes only a few weeks to dust off cobwebs. While the interior trim pieces would be offered only in what is available rather than being M custom, the guts and everything else would be good to go. As far as federalizing- they could do that with no problems since nothing on the car is new. The biggest hurdle is getting 100 people around the world to pony up to $65k (estimated US number) or so for a 3 Series wagon.

      If you want to keep it even simpler- think of it as a Individual with limited run- NM 6 Series rings a bell.

      -M

  • Engineer

    Mike, you clearly have no idea about engineering even a slightly changed car and also about how large corporations work.

    Look a 1M. 2 yrs development.

  • chad

    @ engineer- if i read correctly, Michael is saying that the ALL of the engineering has been done some time ago. it should be thought of as a project that was completed and essentially ready to be produced, but simply was shelved.

    • http://bimmerfile.com Michael

      @Chad- thanks, I sometimes think I write things in invisible print. Car was already engineered.

  • bunker

    oh yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes hell yes hell yes mutherf*** yes!!!!!! do it now before my lease runs out!!!!! this is the first good thing I have heard out of BMW in at least 9 months.

  • Gabe

    oh yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes hell yes hell yes mutherf*** yes!!!!!! do it now before my lease runs out!!!!! this is the first good thing I have heard out of BMW in at least 9 months.

    What he said.

  • chrisM

    Don’t see an M3 wagon having appeal unless it is AWD.

  • goat

    Love love love this car… To me, would be the most desirable M3 variant of e9x generation! I have always been a huge fan of the M3 sedans (any generation) over their coupe counterparts as it is but the wagon tops even those!

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  • Fred

    Remember that they built the E30 touring right at the end of the run and actually were still making and selling them in 1994, three or four years after introducing the first E36. Hence the rarity of E36 tourings.

    So it wouldn’t be unprecedented to create a touring out of the current generation of M3 late in its own run.

    As to the appeal of the wagon, the question to me is why you’d buy a car with a very similar or inferior carrying capacity and worse weight/chassis dynamics – for example, an X1, X3, X5. I’m sure there are lots of M3 customers out there who own dogs or like to carry things larger/taller than a sedan’s trunk without strapping them to the roof. The wagon has a small weight and c of g penalty but a large increase in utility. Pretty good if you’re not buying a track day car.

  • Que

    Where can I order one? Just last week I was wondering if they made a M3 wagon, and look… I should dream more often.

  • HERR26

    The problem with the Touring’s in the US Market ( and it is not just BMW who have this problem) Is that if there is a relative SUV/SAV in the same segment the customer always goes for the SAV. In this case the 5er Touring’s loss was the X5′s gain. It is not a case of one supporting the other customers see the SAV as a more versatile offering plus with the added security of AWD when the Winter gets as bad as it is now. In the case of the new X3 which has recently been launched in the US. you see the trend in how it effects the Touring in this case initial X3 sales are dominating Touring sales. It was the same for the X5/E61 5er Touring.

    BMW are not the only european manufacturers who are experiencing this. Mercedes-Benz having recently introduced their E-Klasse T-modell have a slight advantage because of the dated ML-Klasse, expect a different story when the new ML-Klasse comes on line later this year. Audi again , have the Q5 which is selling better than the A4 Avant.

    It is true that the bulk of engineeringwork is done because it is an M3. Therefore chassis and suspension can be accomodated underneath the Touring body shell. It is true that we are in the final 1 and a half years of the M3 and they are looking at doing something for the “grand finale” With several options on the table including an additional concept either to tribute it’s LMS/DTM? success. It’s a bit like the MINI Countryman. The WRC allows for marketing manna from heaven. just how you connect it all depends on what it’s initial outcome is.

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  • Natextr

    Oh yes! Let’s see, I’d probably not give up my first born, but would consider having a second if it helped make the decision for BMW. This would solve all of my problems and probably create a few new ones like where would I put all of my speeding tickets? Oh, easy, in the giant hatch! I’ll take mine with an ipod adaptor and the competition package, thank you!

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  • LTL M CPE

    That is pretty sweet. And for the person that mentioned folsk that have dogs you are right on the money there. I have a 2000 323it, for sale by the way, that I purchased used when I got into dog rescue. The car is extremely useful, yet people in the US still have a bad opinion of wagons, Must have been brainwashing of a getneration of kids.

    Jim

  • http://www.chemofski.com Primo135

    Would buy it in a heartbeat. Would especially love an AWD model. Boo to the poster that said “an even heavier M3″ No, it’s a more powerful, better handling wagon!

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  • Jed

    If they need 100 orders, let’s all pony up deposits. :) Bimmerfile Group Buy!

  • chad

    @HERR26- you said there are other options being considered for a grand finale…spill some of those beans!

    but whatever the competing ideas are, my vote is M3 wagon.

  • CiaoBoy

    I would prefer to see a 335d wagon with xDrive. The added traction of the 4-wheel drive would help make the most use of the diesels bountiful torque.

  • Roy

    I have a deposit ready….

  • Leverage

    I’m a buyer! Bring it on BMW. I would have bought the M5 Touring had they imported it to the US.

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  • chas58

    The big bonus for me, is more M3 parts I can bolt onto my own wagon. Suspension wise, there is a lot you can easily do to make a non ///M handle better by judiciously using ///M parts.

    And, given that it is the only e9x that is not nose heavy, I find it makes a great track car, its only drawback is in slalom situations. BMW really leaned more toward performance than cargo space. Plenty of wagons of this size have more cargo space (some Mercdes looks like they add an extra foot of rear overhang), but very few have the performance.

    Looking forward to having more ///M touring parts in the BMW part catalogue!

  • andy

    You can add me to the list of those willing to put a deposit down for a 3m Wagon. Love this car concept. Just don’t make it more expensive than the 3m sedan and I would be a very happy camper

    One of my favorite daily drivers was a MB 83 TD Wagon which hugged the corners of Ortega Highway like no other car (once it got going). An M3 Wagon sounds like a memorable ride too. I hope they build it! The 1m sounds great, but a small m sport wagon would be even better.