BMW M3 Touring beats M4 GT3

BMW’s M3 Touring 24H did not beat the M4 GT3 EVO in the Nürburgring 24 Hours by finishing ahead of it. The Touring finished fifth overall and won the SPX class, while ROWE Racing’s #99 BMW M4 GT3 EVO finished fourth, according to BMW M Motorsport. But the Touring did post the quicker single lap under race conditions: 8 minutes 13.580 seconds, versus 8:15.405 for the fourth-placed M4 GT3 EVO, according to reports published after the race. That is why the comparison drew attention. A road-car-derived estate, built from the BMW M3 Touring and adapted with many M4 GT3 EVO racing components, was not supposed to be the faster BMW over one lap. BMW said the car was created after an April Fools’ joke in 2025 and built in eight months for selected appearances, not as a replacement for its GT3 program. (press.bmwgroup.com) ### If the Touring was quicker on one lap, did it actually beat the GT3 car? The Nürburgring result says no on finishing position and yes on outright fastest lap. BMW said the Schubert Motorsport-run #81 M3 Touring 24H, driven by Jens Klingmann, Connor De Phillippi, Ugo de Wilde and Neil Verhagen, finished fifth overall. BMW said the #99 ROWE Racing M4 GT3 EVO of Dan Harper, Max Hesse, Sheldon van der Linde and Dries Vanthoor finished fourth after an early spin. (press.bmwgroup.com) The lap-time claim rests on that fastest-lap comparison, not on the final classification. BMWBlog reported the Touring’s best lap at 8:13.580 and the ROWE M4 GT3 EVO’s best at 8:15.405. TopSpeed’s account, cited in the original card, framed the gap as a setup story rather than proof that the Touring was the superior race car in all conditions. (press.bmwgroup.com) ### So how could a wagon post the better lap? Jens Klingmann, one of the Touring’s drivers, said the answer started with tires and chassis behavior. Motorsport.com reported that Klingmann said the M3 Touring’s body shell was stiffer than the M4’s, helped by the structure and roll cage, and that this gave the tires more energy when needed. (bmwblog.com) Cold conditions mattered. BMWBlog, citing Klingmann’s comments to Motorsport.com, said the Touring was better at bringing its Yokohama tires into the working window during the overnight running, while the M4 GT3 struggled to do that consistently. That would help explain why the Touring could produce a sharper single lap even though the GT3 car remained BMW’s purpose-built top-class entry. (motorsport.com) ### Was this also a rules and setup story? Balance of Performance was part of it. BMWBlog reported that the M3 Touring 24H was allowed more wing angle to offset its aerodynamic disadvantage and that Klingmann said the car also had a small turbo-boost advantage versus the M4 GT3 EVO. Klingmann said, “the BoP also helped us a little bit” in terms of top speed, according to that report. (bmwblog.com) TopSpeed’s framing went further on setup freedom. Its May 24 story said tire-compound freedom and suspension setup helped the Touring under the specific test and race conditions described in its lap comparison and telemetry-based account. ### Does this mean the Touring is a better race car than the M4 GT3 EVO? (bmwblog.com) BMW’s own race result argues for caution. The M4 GT3 EVO still finished ahead in the race, fourth to fifth, and BMW identified the Touring as a special project built from the road car with many GT3 parts, not as the marque’s main GT3 platform. (topspeed.com) The cleaner takeaway is narrower. On this Nürburgring weekend, in these temperatures, with this setup window and Balance of Performance, the Touring produced the faster single lap. That is notable because it came from a car BMW originally built as a fan-driven one-off. (press.bmwgroup.com) ### What happens next with the car? BMW said after the May 17 race that the M3 Touring 24H “will appear at selected events in the future.” The company did not list the full schedule in that release, but it identified the Nürburgring outing as part of a limited program rather than an ongoing GT3 campaign. (press.bmwgroup.com)