BMW M3 Touring to Tackle N24 in SPX Class

BMW has revealed that an estate/wagon version of its M4 GT3 EVO machine, originally designed as an April Fools’ Day joke, will tackle this year’s Nürburgring 24.

Images of the BMW M3 Touring 24H were revealed on social media on April 1 last year without any serious intention of a race car being created.

However, the pictures drew such a strong response from fans – having reached over a million individual users and generating high engagement levels – that the German manufacturer actually decided to go ahead and build the machine.

The estate shares the same technical base as the BMW M4 GT3 EVO, but is instead derived from the body of the BMW M3 Touring.

After having been built in the course of eight months, the car has now been entered into the invitational SPX class of the Nordschleife contest on May 16-17 and will be piloted by four BMW factory drivers: Jens Klingmann, Ugo de Wilde, Connor De Phillippi, and Neil Verhagen.

It will make its debut in this weekend’s NLS2 event and also tackle the Nürburgring 24 Qualifiers next month.

“A project like the BMW M3 Touring 24H has never existed at BMW M Motorsport before,” said head of BMW M Motorsport Andreas Roos.

“Many thanks to everyone who put their heart and soul into this unique car and brought it to life.

“I am thrilled – and at the same time, I am certain that our fans, who are never closer to us than at our second home on the Nürburgring, will be just as excited.

“I promise all fans a great show and look forward to an event of superlatives.”

Klingmann added: “This is truly a unique project, and I am absolutely delighted to be a part of it.

“The fact that we took our fans’ reactions to an April Fools’ joke as an opportunity to actually make the BMW M3 Touring 24H a reality speaks to our closeness to our community and our enthusiasm for motorsport.

“It has to be said clearly that the car may have started as an April Fools’ joke, but it has become an absolutely top-class and competitive race car.

“Our goal is to put on a great show for the spectators at the Nürburgring and to finish the race as far up front as possible. I am convinced that we can achieve a top result.”

Compared to the conventional GT3 machine, the M3 Touring 24H is 200 millimeters longer and 32 millimetres taller (including its rear wing).