BMW M3 CS Touring Sets New Nurburgring Record for the Fastest Wagon

The manic BMW M3 CS Touring is now officially the fastest estate to lap around the Nurburgring, with a time of 7:29.490.

BMW has just set yet another Nurburgring record, this time for the fastest wagon to lap around the infamous Nordschleife with the BMW M3 CS Touring. This manic M3 wagon lapped the ‘Green Hell’ in just 7:29.490, making it the first estate model to break the 7.30-minute barrier.

More impressive is the fact that this record also makes this M-badged car with five seats and a decent cargo bay faster than some proper sportscars, including the Camaro ZL1 and the C8 Corvette.

Compared to its current Bavarian stablemates, the M3 CS Touring is less than a second slower than its saloon twin, but it still has a lot of catching up to do with the more hardcore M4 CSL, which is the fastest production BMW model to lap the ‘Ring at 7:18.137.

Making things more interesting is that this record-breaking feat is that, unlike BMW’s previous record attempts, the M3 CS Touring was piloted by Jörg Weidinger, a BMW M development engineer, instead of their usual test drivers. Prior to his engineering post at BMW, Wedinger was a racing driver and hillclimb champion, so he does have some prior racing experience.

Unveiled earlier this year, the manic M3 CS Touring serves as a more focused version of the M3 Touring, featuring some additional performance, chassis, and aero upgrades, while retaining almost the same degree of practicality. For starters, its 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged inline-six S58 engine has been boosted to now churn out 543 hp, with the power now delivered to all four wheels (AWD) via the M xDrive system and an 8-speed ZF-sourced automatic transmission.

Thanks to this power boost, BMW claims the M3 CS Touring can sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.5 seconds, while reaching a top speed of up to 300 km/h. To go along with its boosted power, BMW M engineers have also revised its suspension geometry and given it a more robust brake setup, with carbon ceramic discs available as an option.

Despite this supercar-rivalling performance, the M3 CS Touring still offers the same degree of practicality you expect from any estate model. Not only does it retain the same five-seater layout as the standard 3 Series Touring, but it also offers a 500-litre boot space, which can be expanded to 1,510 litres if the rear seats are folded down.

Commenting on this record-breaking feat, BMW M CEO Franciscus van Meel 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.”