The BMW M3 Touring just broke the record for the fastest lap for a wagon around the Nürburgring. Naturally, BMW is pretty proud of itself. And it should be, as that’s an impressive achievement. To see just how impressive, we thought it would be interesting to see which cars the M3 Touring was faster than around the Green Hell.
While the 7:35.060 lap time is impressive for a wagon, it isn’t hugely impressive in the grand scheme of the auto industry. Still, for a five-door wagon, it’s pretty dang quick. For instance, according to FastestLaps (which lists not only the lap times but also the drivers who did them), it’s faster than an Acura NSX (pre-facelift) and BMW’s own F90 M5 Competition. It’s also faster than a 997-generation Porsche 911 GT3, which was driven by Walter Rohrl and a BMW M2 CS. None of those cars are slouches in the speed department and yet the M3 Touring, a family wagon, is faster.
However, it also must be said that there are some cars that were faster around the ‘Ring that might not look great for BMW. For instance, the 992-gen 911 Carrera S–which has 100 fewer horses than the M3 Touring–was over a second quicker. An Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio was also quicker, which is one of its main rivals. Even the BMW M4 Competition xDrive was quicker, which uses the exact same powertrain and drivetrain.
Of course, the BMW M3 Touring isn’t meant to be a track weapon–it’s literally a family wagon at its core–but it’s still shocking to see the sort of machinery that was quicker. It just goes to show that weight, balance, and aerodynamics are every bit as important as power and torque.
With all of that said, the BMW M3 Touring is a badass daily driver and is the quickest wagon around the Nürburgring in history.
[Source: FastestLaps]
