One of the most highly anticipated vehicles of 2022 is BMW’s super station wagon, the M3 Touring. Few things get car enthusiasts worked up more than a fast station wagon, and the new M3 Touring should deliver epic performance with space for the entire family.

BMW’s M Division has just recently released a video. It gives a brief backstory about how the M3 Touring came to be. Fans of BMW and station wagons will know that this will be the first-ever production M3 wagon. We finally get to see the new car without camouflage for the first time in the video. Granted, it’s just the rear of the car we get to see, but it is exciting nonetheless. Here’s the video and everything we know about the M3 Touring.

The 2023 BMW M3 Touring

The news around the new M3 Touring has been largely based on teaser videos and speculation on specs. BMW hasn’t officially released any details. We do know that the official market launch will happen in 2022, with production starting this November.

It is expected that when the long-roof M3 goes on sale, it will be offered, at least initially, in only one trim. That trim will likely use the M3 Competition’s engine and pair it with the xDrive all-wheel drive system and an eight-speed automatic transmission. That will mean 510 horsepower from the twin-turbo inline six-cylinder engine with 479 pound-feet of torque. 

MotorTrend managed a 0 to 60 mph sprint in under three seconds with the M3 sedan. Although, that was done in near-perfect conditions. The Touring will be heavier, so expect a slightly slower 0 to 60 mph time. 

Does the video reveal anything new that we didn’t already know?

Not really. The video shows us the rear end of the M3 Touring without camouflage, which we haven’t seen before. We have been able to guess what the car will look like just purely based on the M3 sedan and the 3 Series Touring that the rest of the world gets. 

What is interesting in the video are the subtle details of the car’s backend. The roof spoiler is 3D printed, and we get a chance to see the aggressive rear diffuser and quad exhaust pipes. All of which look purposeful and hint at the kind of performance we can expect from the car.

Will the U.S. get the new M3 Touring?

As of this writing, the prevailing consensus is that the U.S. will miss out on the M3 Touring. BMW doesn’t even offer the standard 3 Series station wagon stateside. 

A BMW spokesperson told BMW Blog that bringing the M3 Touring to the American market would be cost-prohibitive. BMW cites the different crash test regulations between Europe and America as the primary reason not to go forward with a U.S.-spec version of the car. 

A further reason is simply that the American market is in love with SUVs and crossovers. There simply isn’t enough demand to justify importing the standard 3 Series wagon. That means importing an M version, which would sell in far fewer numbers, would make little sense for BMW.

Is there anything we can get excited about?

Yes, of course! Just the fact that BMW is even making this car is something to be excited about. If the M3 Touring is successful and proves to be a solid competitor to similar vehicles from Audi and Mercedes–Benz, then we could see those companies respond with uprated versions of their long-roof cars. 

The success of the M3 Touring could spur Audi to update the RS4 Avant and RS6 Avant with better performance and could convince Mercedes to up their game as well. That would have a knock-on effect of making the cars we get here, specifically the RS6 Avant, even better. 

I will grant you that is a bit of a stretch and a poor consolation for not getting the M3 Touring here in the U.S. However, it might be the best that we can expect. The desire of car manufacturers to bring specific models to specific markets depends on several factors, but the largest is customer demand. As long as SUVs, crossovers, and trucks dominate the American market, the pool of potential buyers will remain very, very small.

We can continue to hope that BMW changes its mind, but until then, we will just have to love it from afar.