Thursday 31st July

BMW M3 CS Touring is quickest 'Ring wagon ever

The fastest estate on the Nordschleife was already an M3; now it's another M3 - and sub-7:30...

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You’ve got to admire BMW M’s commitment to Nurburgring laps in 2025. It’s bordering on an obsession, second only to Porsche. If there’s an M badge on it (and it doesn’t weigh more than two tonnes), it’s going around the Nordschleife. Probably claiming a record, too, if the M2 CS (fastest compact car, 7:25.534) and the M4 CSL (fastest ‘mid-range car’, 7:18.137) are anything to go by. 

And now it’s happened again. Well, sort of. The M3 CS Touring has set a 7:29.490 lap at the track, making it the fastest BMW Touring ever to lap the Nordschleife as well as the fastest estate period. But they aren’t official Nurburgring Record Drive categories, so the CS wagon doesn’t go to the top of any table. Pity - although it remains an incredible achievement. It wasn’t that long ago that Nordschleife wagon records were being claimed by Leon Cupras at a little less than eight minutes; a decade later and essentially 30 seconds have been taken from that time.

A sub-7:30 is impressive for anything, let alone a car that weighs 1,925kg with a medium-sized driver onboard. Perhaps what’s most notable about the Touring’s lap is how close it gets to lighter BMWs; there’s another 90kg to carry over a saloon, yet the four-door’s 7:28.760 is less than a second ahead. Although it might just be BMW’s development engineer and record driver Jörg Weidinger getting even quicker at the Nurburgring - he does get plenty of practice. For reference, a standard M3 Touring recorded a 7:35.060; a useful improvement for the CS given it’s only 40hp more powerful. 

Franciscus van Meel, BMW M CEO, said: "From the very beginning, it was clear that the BMW M3 CS Touring would set new standards in dynamics. With a time under 7:30 minutes, this model impressively demonstrates that this vehicle concept perfectly combines racing DNA with everyday usability." They suggest this new M3 is ‘the ultimate one car solution’ - an opinion we're inclined to agree with…

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• 2025 BMW M3 CS Touring | PH Review
• Is this the last truly great, rear-drive M car?

[The Pistonsdead]

Great achievement for an everyday wagon. Respect to the driver for pushing it to its very limits

[ImbackYo]

doh

[SDK]

These laps validate the points journalists and car reviewers try to get across. The increased weight of cars is not holding back track lap time - If anything it's improving

[supacool1]

Wooooooo a whole 6 seconds faster than the regular one...pointless...

[fantheman80]

M5 Touring - "hold my Warsteiner"

[Glenn63]

SDK said:

These laps validate the points journalists and car reviewers try to get across. The increased weight of cars is not holding back track lap time - If anything it's improving

You think if it was 500kg lighter it would be slower?

[SDK]

Glenn63 said:

You think if it was 500kg lighter it would be slower?

I know if it was 500kg lighter it wouldn t exist

You think car makers build heavier cars through choice?

[tripleB]

“Ultimate one car solution”?
Anyone that can actually afford one of these new, is not worrying about only being able to afford one car - over £120k for a 3 series wagon is utterly utterly unaffordable for 95% of the population

[Terminator X]

Slower than M2, slightly surprised.

TX.

[Terminator X]

supacool1 said:

Wooooooo a whole 6 seconds faster than the regular one...pointless...

Tbf 6s is a lifetime if racing.

TX.

[Antj]

As relevant as knowing my Watch is water proof to 200m

Nobody cares.

[dodgydelboy75000]

Why are all BMW's so hideous to look at. I thing the design team are all university rejects!!

[Rusty Old-Banger]

Antj said:

As relevant as knowing my Watch is water proof to 200m

Nobody cares.

Absolutely.

Nobody buys a track-spec estate to go 6 seconds faster around a 14 mile lap. It's purely about the posing.

And I say that as a many-time 'Ring visitor over the last 30 years (fnar).

[Wardy78]

Antj said:

As relevant as knowing my Watch is water proof to 200m

Nobody cares.

You clearly care enough to highlight your watch is waterproof to 200m AND link that lack of interest to a car (and thread) lapping a race circuit?

[whp1983]

Whilst I don’t care about a lap time per se… and of course if you take a stock road car on track and drive it hard it’ll be in sorry state after…..

I still like the fact manufacturers do this…. Onboard vids are enjoyable, it’s more interesting than an insta post and why not have some competitiveness between manufacturers

Good stuff

[breadvan]

Apologies for getting all geeky, but the article uses a pre-LCI stock M3T for the comparison.

Since 2024 the LCI's extra 20 hp should reduce the 6 second gap to something closer to 3 seconds.

[Kipsrs]

[British Beef]

I suspect the power gains and the way that power is delivered is more than just 40hp at the top end.

if they could just make the front end look more like the E46 that would be great improvement

[Evil.soup]

Lovely thing in my eyes, especially in the green and gold. As for the lap record, yeah it's cool, but not something a mortal could manage, so it serves nothing more than bragging rights, which in this end of the segment, kind of matters.

Just the normal slow M3 touring would suit me...

[oedipus]

Great - the faster it is the less time it’s in my field of vision