The BMW M3 CS Touring is now the fastest wagon to have lapped the Nurburgring, having beaten the previous record-holder by half a second. That previous record holder being… Itself.
Well, the non-CS version of itself. Back in 2022, on the eve of its debut, the stranger-than-fiction M3 Touring lapped the ’Ring in 7min 35sec. And then again, earlier this year, Mr. Jorg Weindinger somehow shaved five whole seconds off that time for a 7min 30sec lap.
Now, we learn the harder, more powerful, and really very marginally lighter M3 CS Touring has managed a time of 7min 29.49sec. Look, it matters, not just for the few people able to purchase one, but to the guys at BMW, too.
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“From the very beginning, it was clear that the BMW M3 CS Touring would set new standards in dynamics,” said BMW M boss Frank van Meel. He added that the new record demonstrates how the CS “perfectly combines racing DNA with everyday usability.”
Mind, it is still way off its siblings: The M4 CSL holds a 7min 18.1sec Nurburgring lap time, while the M4 CS did it in 7min 21.9sec. And yet, it’s only a second slower than the four-door M3 CS sedan, which recorded a lap time of 7min 28.7sec. BMW reckons the M3 CS T is therefore “the perfect ‘one car solution.’”
A very powerful one-car solution. The M3 Touring’s 3.0-liter has been ramped up to 542hp for the CS iteration, allowing a 0-100kph time of just 3.5sec and top speed of 300kph. Other tweaks include a new exhaust, special chassis settings, big M carbon brakes, and a few external design changes. It’s 15kg lighter, too, but you could achieve more by eating less.
Turns out, all these changes turn it into something quite special indeed. “The CS shows every other fast estate how it should be done,” we concluded.
Now, time to petition BMW to make a properly leichtbau, full-blown M3 CSL Touring…
More photos of the BMW M3 CS Touring on the Nurburgring:
NOTE: This story first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
