On April 1, 2025, BMW announced an ‘M2 Dakar’ and an ‘M3 Touring GT3 Evo,’ the latter described as “garage-born, track-approved, and ready to race.” It was, of course, an April Fools’ joke. A BMW wagon with a massive wing built to go racing? Madness!
Only, the joke’s on us. Because on March 16, 2026, the German carmaker has confirmed what was once a joke is now ‘reality’: The bewinged BMW M3 Touring 24H will race in this year’s Nürburgring 24 Hours. Who’s laughing now?
Probably not the M3 Touring drivers—Schubert Motorsport’s quartet of Jens Klingmann, Ugo de Wilde, Connor De Phillippi, and Neil Verhagen—because the Nürburgring 24 Hours is quite scary. And the M3 Touring 24H will take the M4 GT3 Evo’s technical base and sling it all inside that frankly excellent body shape.
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That means up to 582hp from BMW’s 3.0-liter P58 turbo straight-six sent to the rear wheels, plus various (obvious) chassis and suspension upgrades like new anti-roll bars, fatter brakes, and a tweaked diff. Among lots of other things, of course.
BMW has quantified how much bigger the M3 Touring is compared with its M4 GT3 sibling—200mm longer, 32mm taller—but what it hasn’t quantified is how much cooler this thing is. Answer: Much.
It won’t compete for top honors at the endurance event because it’ll run in the ‘SPX’ class, which means it won’t eat up the efforts of BMW’s three M4 GT3 Evos that’ll aim for outright victory. It will instead compete for every BMW M enthusiast’s heart.
“A project like the BMW M3 Touring 24H has never existed at BMW M Motorsport before,” said M Motorsport boss Andreas Roos. “I am thrilled, and at the same time, I am certain that our fans, who are never closer to us than at our second home on the Nürburgring, will be just as excited.
“I promise all fans a great show and look forward to an event of superlatives.”
Klingmann added: “It has to be said clearly that the car may have started as an April Fools’ joke, but it has become an absolutely top-class and competitive race car. Our goal is to put on a great show for the spectators at the Nürburgring and to finish the race as far up front as possible. I am convinced that we can achieve a top result.”
‘As far up front as possible.’ It’ll make its competitive debut at next weekend’s NLS, before the actual Nürburgring 24 Hours in May. Ha ha ha.
More photos of the BMW M3 Touring 24H:
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
