BMW M3 wagon rumours scotched

BMW M product management Carsten Pries this week appears to have told Dutch site Autovisie in Geneva that a load-lugging M3 was not on the table. Why? Not enough global interest.

"One of the most important aspects is that an M model global unlikely to succeed,” he said (we have translated this into English). “In Central Europe there is a market, but outside much less.”

This is a reflection on slow demand for traditional wagons outside of their European stronghold. Elsewhere, including in Australia, it is SUVs that rule the roost — SUVs such as BMW’s own X5 and X6, which both have M derivatives.

Nevertheless, BMW’s apparent decision to forgo a direct Audi RS4 Avant or Mercedes-AMG C63 Estate wagon rival seems a loss.

It would have been the first series production M3 wagon. A prototype E46 M3 Touring was built but never moved on to production. 

Source: Autovisie.