You might say BMW is reasonably eager about the M3 Touring project, teasing it incessantly like the meanest of parents on the days approaching Christmas. We know it's coming and we know it's going to be special (at least if the M3 saloon is anything to by), but BMW refuses to show us very much at all.
Aside from a long, design-led look at the new derriere, don't expect too much more from this video, as it's largely focused on the heritage side of things. Still, on the plus side, that means a good gawp at that sensational E46 concept wagon, which still looks just about perfect all these years later. Being given such a detailed walkaround, just to see how production ready the one-off E46 M3 Touring really looked, only makes its demise more galling.
But, worry not, as the real M3 Touring is coming - "the fascination didn't die", according to Hans Rahn, BMW's head of prototype construction, it just took 20 years for the stars to align again. And boy does it look good. The standard G21 Touring is already a handsome estate, and the M3 in the video - in grey and without badges - looks great, its punchy M attitude there for all to see in the arches and exhausts. Interestingly, the new rear spoiler is 3D printed.
Cliched though it might sound, you can sense the enthusiasm for this project in the video. Dirk Hacker is also in it, responsible for all M model development. He adds: "The car was created by a small group of us with a lot of passion", the impression very much of a committed bunch of enthusiasts really proud they've convinced management of the Touring's viability. Makes you wonder what took so long, really, given the excitement around this car and the cohesiveness of the look. Well, from the back at least...