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• A BMW 3 Series Touring owner in the United Kingdom converted his 320d into an F80 M3 Touring.
• It's powered by a 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbocharged engine.
• Carwow tested how fast it is against an M340i Touring model.
BMW's production version of the M3 Touring is only destined to arrive in 2022, but that hasn't stopped a 320d owner from converting it into an M3 wagon, but more on that later.
In August BMW confirmed that it would complete the M3 range with a Touring model. That was the good news. The bad news was it would only be available in 2022.
The Coupe and Sedan models broke cover in late September sporting the new vertical kidney grille seen on the latest 4 Series Coupe and caused heated debates on car Twitter about whether it was a hit or a miss.
First-ever M3 Touring
Power of course will be derived from six-cylinder M TwinPower turbo engine. In the M3 and M4, the 3.0-litre engine in the standard models will sport 353kW with a 6-speed manual gearbox, while the Competition model is replete with 375kW and 650Nm of torque and uses an 8-speed M Steptronic transmission.
The Touring version adds the practicality of five doors and a highly variable luggage compartment with driving. BMW says we can expect M-specific interplay of racing-oriented performance and everyday suitability to the extreme.
The M badge has adorned other Touring models in the past, but only for the M3's bigger brother, the M5. There are only two generations of M5 Touring, BMW built them in its second generation in 1992 and in its fourth in 2007.
Unicorn M3
One person who couldn't wait for an F81 M3 is Nick. He took the body shell of a 320d Touring and then sourced all the part of an F81 M3 to create an 'M3 Touring'.
He used the sub frame, suspension, gearbox and engine to create a brutal machine complete with an M3 interior to boot. It's a unicorn, something that shouldn't exist, but does and oh man are we ecstatic about it.
M340i xDrive
But how does it compare against factory built M340i xDrive? This performance M lite version sports nn eight-speed sports transmission, the familiar B58 3.0-litre in-line six-cylinder turbocharged motor, and of course all-wheel drive.
Power is noted at 285kW and 500Nm, with 0-100km/h taking just 4.4 seconds says BMW. Top speed is pegged at 250km/h. A sportier suspension means you sit 10mm lower to the ground too, and hold onto a thick-rimmed steering wheel.
Carwow says: "It's time for a BMW Touring showdown! We've got an F81 M3 Touring going head-to-head with the new BMW M340i xDrive Touring!
The owner took a BMW 320d, and then took all the parts from an M3 F80 and built THIS! Not only that, but the engine's also been tuned, so the 3-litre straight-six turbo now delivers 405kW and 680Nm!
Now it may have more power than the M340i, which can 'only' produce 285kW and 500Nm of torque, but it does have one advantage - it's got all-wheel drive, whereas the M3 only has rear-wheel drive."
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Watch: Rear-wheel drive M3 wagon takes on all-wheel-drive M340i
