BMW M Motorsport reveals M3 Touring 24H for Nürburgring race

BMW M Motorsport says the BMW M3 Touring 24H will race at the 2026 Nürburgring 24 Hours after debuting in the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie. Learn the key facts about the unusual racing estate.

A racing estate car that began as an April Fools’ joke is now heading to one of the toughest endurance races in the world. BMW M Motorsport confirmed that the BMW M3 Touring 24H will compete at the 2026 Nürburgring 24 Hours, with its first competitive appearance scheduled earlier in the season during the second round of the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie.

The idea stands out immediately. Estate cars are rarely used in professional motorsport, yet BMW decided to turn a playful concept into a real racing project. In 2025 the company presented a fictional racing M3 Touring as an April Fools’ concept, and the reaction from fans was strong enough that BMW chose to build the car for real.

The debut at the endurance classic will take place on 16–17 May 2026 during the Nürburgring 24 Hours in Germany. Much of the race is run on the legendary Nordschleife, the 20.832-kilometre northern loop of the Nürburgring often referred to as the “Green Hell.” The circuit features more than 300 metres of elevation change and dozens of demanding corners, making it one of the most challenging tracks used in modern motorsport.

Before the main race, BMW will run the car in the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS). This championship consists of several endurance races held on the Nordschleife and is commonly used by teams to prepare for the 24-hour event. Individual races can attract up to 165–170 cars across multiple categories, ranging from near-production vehicles to GT3 machinery.

The project also appears against the backdrop of BMW’s long history at the Nürburgring endurance race. The brand won the very first 24-hour event in 1970 and has accumulated 21 overall victories at the race. The most recent success came in 2025, when ROWE Racing secured victory with the BMW M4 GT3 EVO.

The racing project is based on the road-going BMW M3 Touring. The production model uses a 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged inline-six engine producing around 530 hp and 650 Nm, paired with an eight-speed M Steptronic transmission and the M xDrive all-wheel-drive system. It accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in roughly 3.6 seconds.

BMW has also released a dedicated Media Guide that contains technical data and detailed information about the modifications made to transform the road car into a race machine. Those specifications were not disclosed in the initial announcement, but they explain how the estate platform was adapted for a 24-hour endurance race.

The appearance of the BMW M3 Touring 24H adds an unusual entry to the Nürburgring grid. Estate cars have rarely appeared in top-level racing, with one of the most famous historical examples being the Volvo 850 Estate that competed in the British Touring Car Championship in 1994.

The next step will be the car’s competitive debut in the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie. That race will provide the first real indication of how the BMW M3 Touring 24H performs on the Nordschleife before it takes on the full challenge of the Nürburgring 24-hour endurance race.