To make way for a new car, two cars had to be destroyed.
BMW M has released a new video that explains how the M3 Touring (G81), came about. Bavaria’s late answer to the Mercedes-AMG C63 estate and Audi RS4 Avant were built using two donor cars. The project began with a G80-decommissioned M3 Sedan test vehicle, which had to be taken apart to its bare metal.
BMW M then got hold of a 3 Series Touring (G21), and the puzzle started to form. Next was to combine the M3’s axles with the regular estate. This also received the powerful inline-six engine of the performance sedan. Although it sounds simple, the M3 Sedan’s tracks are wider than those of the regular wagon.
To make the G21 more svelte, modifications to the chassis were necessary to make it the G81. This will be the first ever production Touring. The modifications to the body were difficult, as was the work required for the hardware adaptions below the vehicle. While the rear bumper was designed to match the wagon’s tailgate, it had to be consistent with the sedan’s design.
After the conversion was completed, it was time for the prototype to be presented to the BMW top-rankers “in all its beauty”. The M3 Touring was approved this time. The G81 will be the spiritual successor to the M3E46 Touring concept that was created more than 20 years ago.
The road-going super wagon will be sold as a Competition model with xDrive, an automatic transmission and a manual transmission. It will be based on the 3 Series facelift that is expected to debut in the next months. The LCI was accidentally seen in an image of China’s i3 Sedan, which somehow got lost online a few days back.