The BMW M3 CS Touring Is The Fastest Ever Estate At The Nürburgring

Need to carry a wardrobe, a mountain bike or several large dogs around the Nürburgring Nordschleife as quickly as possible? Nope, us neither, but in the unlikely event that you do, you're going to need a BMW M3 CS Touring.

Yep, it’s once again time to sound your Overly Specific Nürburgring Lap Record Klaxon because the harder, faster version of BMW’s first ever M3 Touring has officially become the fastest estate around the Green Hell.

That’s thanks to a 7:29.490 set by BMW development driver Jörg Weidinger back in April, a lap that’s only now being revealed to the public. It snatches the longroof lap record from the standard M3 Touring, knocking a little over 5.5 seconds off its 7:35.060 run. It’s also less than a second behind the M3 CS saloon (7:28.760), although still some way off the 7:21.989 managed by the two-door M4 CS.

Among non-BMW stuff, that time sees the 542bhp CS Touring beat the C8 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and the previous-generation Porsche Panamera Turbo. We shouldn’t be too surprised, though. As part of its CS-ification, it gains 19bhp and loses 15kg over the standard M3 Touring, and gets a CS-specific chassis setup.

The record comes during a season of new production car benchmarks being set at the ’Ring. In the last few months alone, we’ve seen the BMW M2 CS break the record as the fastest compact car, the Ford Mustang GTD double down on its claim as the fastest American car, and the astonishing Xiaomi SU7 Ultra become the fastest production EV.

The CS Touring might have had an easier time than most, as there are comparatively few fast estates around, especially at this level of performance. So, we know you’ve technically stopped building it now, but Audi: fancy seeing what the RS6 GT can do?