BMW M3 (E46) wagon: You Know You Want To

BMW never made an M3 estate, but that hasn't stopped a few intrepid enthusiasts!

Alright, the bad bits first. It's in New Zealand. It's SMG. And silver might be a bit predictable for an M3. But then this is an (unofficial, of course) M3 Touring, and you probably don't need us to tell you what a fantastically exciting prospect that is.

Just in case you do, here's a brief outline: first off, fast estates are always cooler than fast saloons or coupes. They just are. See Audi RS6, Mercedes C63 and Volvo 850 T5. Secondly, this particular estate is built to E46 M3 spec, arguably one of the best BMW M cars ever produced, and then some. A combination of muscular good looks, fantastic dynamics and a savage straight six saw to that.

BMW once made an E46 M3 Touring concept, and mighty fine it looked too, but for whatever reason decided not to produce it. The most commonly held belief is that, while success could have been counted on in Europe, sales predictions were not as rosy elsewhere. Shame. Especially when Audi saw enough potential in the RS4 to launch an estate-only model at about the same time.

Still, it has at least meant a few - apparently six globally - M3 Tourings have emerged, the result of dedicated BMW enthusiasts picking up where that concept left off.

And doesn't it look superb? This one isn't quite standard, lowered via Bilstein PSS10s on Avant Garde M359 19-inch wheels, but it works wonders for the stance. Indeed this M3 Touring is optimised with a fast road/track set up including Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres, Pagid brakes pads and braided lines plus intake and exhaust tweaks. The seller says the car, "would make the perfect addition to a BMW collection, or you could simply use it daily as I have, it is a very well set up car" - perhaps it could work as a track project too...

See, this isn't some garage queen; it began life as a 318 and has been used as a daily driver in M3 guise, covering 180,000 kilometres in the process. There's no need to be afraid about using it, basically, and it would be a real pity to see such hard work no longer enjoyed.

It's always hard to value projects like this, when huge amounts of time and money have been invested into the finished project. Especially when it's then taken beyond OEM spec as well. At least with this car everything appears to be working, so it wouldn't require much from the next owner.

Given this car is in Waikato, you would have to hope that the $48,000 price is in New Zealand dollars and not US. At the former it's £25,000, the latter £35,000. Not a cheap car either way, but also not absurd in the current climate. And the E46 M3 is becoming more desirable as a classic, seemingly by the day. Being on the other side of the world isn't exactly ideal, but it looks like one lucky buyer could be in for the best M car BMW never made.