BMW turns M3 Touring April Fools joke into a real race car
What started as a social media prank in April 2025 is now a fully built GT3-spec estate, set to race at the 2026 Nürburgring 24 Hours this May.
Shane Riley
BMW posted fake images of an M3 Touring race car on April Fools' Day 2025. It was a joke. Fans lost their minds. Now BMW has built the thing for real.
The BMW M3 Touring 24H is confirmed for this year's Nürburgring 24 Hours on 16-17 May, campaigned by Schubert Motorsport with works drivers Jens Klingmann, Ugo de Wilde, Connor De Phillippi, and Neil Verhagen sharing duties. It makes its competitive debut at next weekend's Nürburgring Langstrecken Serie round.
Under that long estate body sits the full technical package from the M4 GT3 EVO, including BMW's P58 3.0-litre twin-turbo straight-six producing up to 582bhp to the rear wheels. Upgraded anti-roll bars, bigger brakes, and a revised differential round out the chassis changes.
Dimensionally, it's a stretch on its sibling: 200mm longer and 32mm taller than the M4 GT3 EVO, though both cars share identical technical specifications otherwise.
It won't be chasing outright victory. The M3 Touring 24H races in the SPX class, clear of the three M4 GT3 EVOs BMW is running for an overall result. This one's purely for the spectacle.
M Motorsport boss Andreas Roos called it a project "that has never existed at BMW M Motorsport before," while Klingmann was clear the joke is well and truly over: "It has become an absolutely top-class and competitive race car."
No Australian pricing or availability is relevant here. This is a one-off factory racing project, full stop. But if your dream spec sheet includes an M3 Touring with a wing, BMW just proved it's not that crazy an idea.
