BMW M3 CS Touring officially revealed

BMW has officially revealed the M3 CS Touring as a more radical version of its high-performance estate. Compared to the standard M3 Touring, the CS has new design elements, bump-up power and a slightly lower weight.

1. Styling tweaks include a new grille, LED headlight signatures, refreshed bonnet
2. The engine's output is higher at 543hp, a 20hp boost over the M3 Touring
3. The car weighs 15kg less than the M3 Touring due to more use of carbon fibre

BMW M3 CS Touring: exterior and interior changes

Up front, the M3 CS Touring looks almost identical to the M3 CS sedan, save for the new diagonal LED signatures in the headlights that glow yellow. The elongated kidney grilles get a new horizontal Y-shaped design and a red border, the bonnet has two large air ducts finished in black, and there’s a more pronounced carbon-fibre splitter underneath the bumper. BMW only offers four colours for the M3 CS Touring: British Racing Green, Frozen Solid White, Laguna Seca Blue and Sapphire Black.

Over to the side, not much has changed on the M3 CS Touring besides the carbon-fibre side mirror caps and fresh designs for the forged wheels. BMW has equipped the M3 CS Touring with 19-inch front and 20-inch rear wheels as standard, and buyers can opt for them to be painted in gold bronze or black, both with matte finishes. Its rear styling is the same except for a carbon-fibre diffuser and a red contour on the roof spoiler.

The interior mostly resembles that of the M3 Touring but with a few notable changes, such as bucket seats with carbon-fibre shells and illuminated ‘CS’ logos, carbon-fibre paddle shifters and some carbon trim on the dashboard.

BMW M3 CS Touring: engine and performance upgrades

In line with previous BMW CS models, the M3 CS Touring extracts an additional 20hp from its 3.0-litre inline-six engine thanks to a 0.4bar increase in turbocharger boost pressure. The total power output of the engine stands at 543hp, and the 300kph top speed is 20kph higher than the standard M3 Touring. BMW also says that using carbon fibre for many of the M3 CS Touring’s exterior components has led to a 15kg lower weight than the M3 Touring.

The enhanced power and reduced weight of the M3 CS Touring allow it to dispatch the 0-100kph run in 3.5 seconds, 0.1 seconds quicker than the M3 Touring. BMW has also included some upgrades on the vehicle dynamics front, such as firmer suspension and two cast-aluminium strut braces up front for greater rigidity. M compound brakes come standard on the M3 CS Touring, and carbon-ceramic ones are available as an optional extra.

Deliveries for the M3 CS Touring will begin in March. The high-performance estate is expected to have a limited production run, but specific numbers have not yet been revealed. Although BMW launched the M4 CS in India in October, it is unlikely to bring the M3 CS Touring to the country as the estate body style hasn’t garnered much popularity here.