BMW waited till 2022 to provide wagon lovers an M3 Touring with the launch of the G81. Positive, there was a long-roof M3 again in 2000 throughout the E46 era. Nonetheless, that was an inside mission by no means supposed on the market. What if we advised you there’s an M3 E36 Touring on the market? Whereas it wasn’t truly constructed by BMW, it’s a compelling aftermarket conversion.
This 1996 3 Sequence wagon started life as an earthly 320i earlier than receiving a full M3 makeover. Not solely does it characteristic the “S50” engine from a correct second-generation M3, nevertheless it additionally borrows the exhaust and brakes. The transformation included a limited-slip differential, together with wheels, bumpers, and facet skirts sourced from a full-fat M3. To finish the phantasm, the inside was refitted with real E36 M3 components. All advised, it seems as if BMW constructed it that method from the beginning.
Dutch vendor Premium Classics claims the car has truly been registered as an M3 Touring. To make it much more convincing, small particulars such because the mirrors and trim had been additionally taken from the actual factor. Initially delivered to a buyer in Germany, the wagon has since been resprayed, bringing the Boston Inexperienced Metallic paint again to a excessive shine, together with on the metal sunroof.
This one-of-one M3 Touring E36 has lined 159,217 kilometers (98,933 miles) and is now on the lookout for a brand new residence. It’s listed for €50,000 ($58,500), which actually doesn’t make it low cost. Then once more, it’s a veritable unicorn and seems to be in impeccable situation. It feels simply as particular because the 1996 M3 Compact E36, a automotive BMW itself constructed again within the day however, sadly, by no means offered.
In hindsight, that is the kind of automotive BMW in all probability ought to have made. It harkens again to a time when SUVs weren’t dominating the model’s lineup. In actual fact, the X5 didn’t arrive till 1999, the ultimate yr of M3 E36 manufacturing. Nonetheless, maybe we should always see the glass half full. In 2025, the M3 Touring is offered alongside the M5 Touring, though the previous stays a forbidden fruit in North America. Full particulars, together with an entire photograph gallery of this distinctive M3 E36 Touring, can be found on the supply hyperlink under. Supply: Premium Classics
