BMW seldom disappoints. Ahead of its unveiling which took place at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the BMW M3 Touring has set a touring car record time around the Nurburgring Nordschleife.
A video published on the BMW M Youtube channel showcased the incredible driving prowess of seasoned driver and chassis test engineer for the BMW Group, Jörg Weidinger setting the fastest touring car record. Weidinger also piloted the M4 CSL around the Nurburgring setting its record lap time of 7 minutes and 20 seconds. Beginning a fast lap after rounding the first corner the immediate attraction is the car’s impressive handling capabilities and exceptional weight transfer through corners parodying the agility of its coupe and sedan siblings.
Powered by a twin-turbocharged six-cylinder, the elongated racehorse has 310kW underneath its bonnet, alongside many performance characteristics found in the G80 and G82. Throughout the Nurburgring, the M3 Touring exhibits surprising athletic versatility through straights where its ability to quickly increase the pace and through winding corners where a minuscule amount of braking is used to send the vehicle gracefully from one apex to another.
Rounding the famous Karusell corner at 4 minutes and 24 seconds, which is only ten seconds slower than the M4 CSL’s entry into that very corner. The M3 Touring exits the 180-degree turn and sets off at 90km/h, sprinting to the brink of 190km/h before a slight tap of the brake and a little correction. Crossing the finish line at 7 minutes and 34 seconds, the BMW M3 Touring secured its spot as the fastest touring car around the Nurburgring trumping the previous record of Tesla Model S Plaid by a few milliseconds.
Watch the full lap in the video linked down below:
