To paraphrase the company itself, BMW owned the world yesterday with a mic drop extraordinaire. The company confirmed that it will build an M3 Touring — the long-rumored, greatly anticipated station wagon version of the M3.
It’s a move that instantly excited car enthusiasts the world over: BMW’s ultimate driving machine, getting the ultimate body style. But if you're getting your hopes up about buying one in America...well, we have bad news. BMW North America has already confirmed to Road & Track that there are no plans to bring the M3 Touring to the United States.
On the one hand, that's not surprising. It would have been more shocking if BMW were bringing it to America. For U.S. buyers, crossovers, SUVs and pickup trucks have largely supplanted station wagons and sedans as the vehicles of choice. Indeed, BMW has direct experience with disappointing wagon sales; the company killed off the 3 Series wagon in North America after 2018 for that exact reason.
That said, there’s evidence that affluent buyers do like station wagons. Both Audi and Mercedes have wagons available in the U.S. — the RS6 Avant and AMG E 63 S wagon. However, both of those are 600-horsepower-plus monsters with six-figure pricetags — not rivals to the M3, which will have around 475-500 horsepower and likely cost around $70,000.
Wagon-philic sentiment is no doubt high among the niche performance buyers who flock to the M3. Earlier this year, BMW’s national dealer forum chairman called for BMW to bring over a sporty wagon to the U.S. market. For now, however, American buyers who want an M3 Touring need to either plot a move to Europe, or check back when they're legal to import...in 2047.
