April Fool's jokes from companies often fall flat. Remember when VW awkwardly joked about renaming itself "Voltswagen" in 2021? That stunt landed badly after the company's Dieselgate scandal.
But sometimes, a joke turns into something real. Last April, BMW posted on social media about a racing station wagon with a huge rear wing. It looked a bit silly, but fans loved it.
From Joke to Race Car
Almost a year later, BMW has actually built the car. The company announced that the M3 Touring 24H race car, with its massive wing, will compete in the Nürburgring 24 Hours.
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Start Your News DetoxThe M3 Touring 24H is already running in practice races. It will enter the 24-hour endurance event in mid-May at the Nürburgring. This infamous 20-kilometer (13-mile) circuit winds through forested hills in western Germany and has over 150 corners.
BMW created this wagon with nearly 600 horsepower from a 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six engine. Power goes to the rear wheels. The car has major chassis and suspension upgrades, including new anti-roll bars, bigger brakes, and a tuned differential. It will be fast and will definitely attract attention.
However, the car will compete in a special editions class. It won't be going for the overall win. BMW is entering three serious M4 GT3 Evos to fight for that top spot. BMW Motorsport doesn't want a wagon getting in the way, no matter how popular it is.
A History of Racing Wagons
Racing wagons are not a new idea. Volvo's 850 estate from the British Touring Car Championship in the 1990s is a famous example. It helped change Volvo's image from "boxy and boring." It also led to the road-going 850 T5-R in 1995, which was partly developed with Porsche.
That bright yellow wagon, with its 240-horsepower inline-five engine, became a cult favorite. Volvo has been different ever since. So, it's not surprising that BMW Motorsport has been thinking about a hot rod wagon since the M3 Touring launched in 2022.
When BMW Motorsport posted images of a supposed "in-development M3 Touring GT race car" on April 1, 2025, they might have been testing public interest. The response was huge. The post reached over one million users and got more than 1.6 million views. This engagement was much higher than BMW's usual social media numbers.
BMW has not shared performance data or confirmed future racing plans for the M3 Touring 24H. There's also no word on whether they will sell versions to private teams, like they do with the M4 GT3, which costs about $670,000.
For now, the fastest road-going 3 Series can still carry a lot of cargo at high speeds. The M3 Competition Touring with xDrive goes from zero to 60 mph in about 3.5 seconds. It has a top speed near 174 mph.
Deep Dive & References
BMW M3 Touring 24H: From April Fools' joke to the Nürburgring 24 Hours - BMW M, 2024
