It was one of those April Fool’s jokes that PR departments love to make.
Remember when a UK supermarket chain announced a double-decker shopping cart? Or when Burger King ‘launched’ a Chocolate Whopper? In 2007, Google fooled the world with ‘Google Paper,’ a service that would print your emails and mail them to you.
They’re not always funny. We reported on VW’s awkward joke about renaming itself Voltswagen in 2021. The stunt landed badly in the wake of the company’s massive Dieselgate scandal and was quickly pulled.
BMW
Sometimes, though, a joke turns into something real. Last April, BMW posted on social media about a station wagon with a massive rear wing built for racing. It looked sort of ridiculous. But the mock-ups got attention. Fans started drooling.
The result? Almost a year later, BMW has actually built it. The company has announced that the wild M3 Touring 24H race car, complete with a huge wing, is heading to the Nürburgring 24 Hours.
The M3 Touring 24H is already running in preliminary races. It is entered for mid-May’s 24-hour endurance event at the Nürburgring, the infamous 20-km (13-mile) circuit through forested hills in western Germany with more than 150 corners.
BMW
BMW has created a load-hauling wagon with close to 600 bhp from a 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six. Power goes to the rear wheels. The car features major chassis and suspension upgrades, including new anti-roll bars, larger brakes, and a tuned differential. It will be fast. It will stand out. It will draw a crowd.
But the car will compete in a special editions class rather than go for outright victory. BMW is entering three serious M4 GT3 Evos to fight for the overall win. BMW Motorsport does not want a wagon getting in the way however popular it is.
After all, racing wagons are nothing new. The best-known example is Volvo’s 850 estate from the British Touring Car Championship in the 1990s. It helped shake off the brand’s ‘boxy and boring’ image. It also led to the road-going 850 T5-R in 1995, developed in part with Porsche. That bright yellow wagon, with its 240-hp inline-five, became a cult favorite. Volvo has not been the same since. So it’s no surprise BMW Motorsport has been thinking about a hot rod wagon since the launch of the M3 Touring in 2022.
BMW
When in April 1, 2025, BMW Motorsport posted images of a supposed ‘in-development M3 Touring GT race car’ it may have been testing the waters. Whatever, the response was huge. The post reached more than one million users and generated over 1.6 million views. Engagement far exceeded normal BMW social media levels.
BMW hasn’t shared performance data or confirmed further racing plans for the M3 Touring 24H. More importantly, there is no word on whether it will sell versions to privateer teams, as it does with the M4 GT3, at around US$670,000.
For now, the fastest road-going 3 Series can still haul a wardrobe at serious speed. The M3 Competition Touring with xDrive goes from 0–60 mph (96.5 km/h) in about 3.5 seconds, with a top speed near 174 mph (280 km/h).
Source: BMW