BMW 3 Series Touring

Alpina has revealed its latest worked-over BMW, the B3 Touring, with sights set on filling a void BMW M has consistently refused to fill. Based on the garden-variety 3 Series Touring, the B3 Touring is powered by an S58 3.0-litre inline-six turbocharged petrol engine making 340kW and 700Nm. That means it's actually the first 3 Series to get the M3's new engine. It's put to all four wheels through an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission.

BMW has unveiled its load-lugging 3 Series, the Touring, ahead of its arrival in Australia late this year. As with its sedan sibling, the 3 Series Touring represents a significant change from the car it replaces. It's 76mm longer, 16mm wider and 8mm taller, freeing up 5L more luggage space (500L) with the rear seats in place and 10L (1610L) more with them in place. The load area is 112mm wider, and the loading lip is lower than before.

The next-generation BMW 3 Series Touring has been spied again, this time giving us an early look and the new 3er's interior. While still heavily camouflaged, we can see the new-gen 3 Series Touring will look very much like a shrunken version of the new 5 Series Touring – which is no bad thing. A quick look at the interior images adds to the 'mini-me' design, though the next 3 Series will adopt several new cabin elements from the company's latest models – namely the all-new X5 and 8 Series.

Our photographers caught the next-generation BMW 3 Series Touring undergoing testing yesterday. According to sources the new 3 Series is expected in showrooms by 2012. The update will see the 3 Series take a few design ideas from the recently updated 5 Series and Z4. New engines are also expected to be unveiled.