BMW M3 Touring 24H – M4 GT3-based station wagon to enter Nürburgring 24 Hours endurance race in May

What began as a BMW M3 Touring-shaped edition of the German manufacturer’s long-running line of April Fool’s jokes has now materialised as a real-life machine that will take part in racing events this year.

Enter the BMW M3 Touring 24H, the suffix referencing its endurance racing intent, and the most generously bewinged station wagon is set to enter the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) at the Nürburgring Nordschleife for its competitive debut next weekend followed by the Nürburgring 24 qualifiers next month, and the 24-hour race at the venue on May 16 and 17.

BMW cites public response on social media as the driving force, and the “previously conceived plans to realise a racing version of the BMW M3 Touring became concrete” in mid-2025. The resulting M3 Touring 24H was completed in eight months, according to the manufacturer.

Sharing a technical base with the M4 GT3 Evo that BMW has already entered into competition, the M3 Touring 24H has identical technical specifications with the racing coupé. Powertrain is the competition P58 inline-six-cylinder turbocharged engine displacing 2,993 cc, which produces up to 590 hp and 700 Nm. This drives the rear wheels through a six-speed sequential transmission with an electro-hydraulic clutch.

Key exterior dimensions see the M3 Touring 24H measure 200 mm longer than the M4 GT3 Evo, and 32 mm taller than the coupé including the wagon’s rear wing. Modifications include a new bodyshell from the A-pillars rearwards, front and rear doors (the latter now functioning as trim panels on the 24H, and are no longer functioning as doors).

Also new are the rear side panels, roof, tailgate, front door extension, luggage compartment trim, rear bumper, windows and rear wing mount, while minor changes apply to the front side panels, sills and cowl panel.

The M3 Touring 24H will be fielded in the NLS by Schubert Motorsport, which will enter the car in the invitational SPX category and therefore will not be in direct competition with the three M4 GT3 Evo race cars in the top SP9 category. Four BMW works drivers will be at the wheel of the M3 Touring 24H, and these are Jens Klingmann, Ugo de Wilde, Connor De Phillippi, and Neil Verhagen.

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