The BMW M3 CS Touring is now the fastest estate around the Nürburgring

The BMW M3 CS Touring is now the fastest estate car to have lapped the Nürburgring, having beaten the previous record-holder by half a second. That previous record holder being… itself.

Well, the non-CS version of itself. Back in 2022, on the eve of its debut, the not-at-all-regular M3 Touring lapped the ‘Ring in 7m 35s. Then again earlier this year, Mr Jorg Weindinger somehow shaved five whole seconds off that time for a 7m 30s lap.

Now, we learn the harder, more powerful and really very marginally lighter M3 CS Touring has managed a time of 7m 29.490s. Look, it matters, not just for the few people able to purchase one, but to the boss, too.

“From the very beginning, it was clear that the BMW M3 CS Touring would set new standards in dynamics,” said BMW M boss Frank van Meel. He added that the new record demonstrates how the CS “perfectly combines racing DNA with everyday usability”.

Still a way off its siblings, mind: the M4 CSL holds a 7m 18.1s Nürburgring lap time, while the M4 CS did it in 7m 21.9s. And yet, it’s only a second slower than the four-door M3 CS saloon, which recorded a lap time of 7m 28.7s. BMW reckons the M3 CS T is therefore “the perfect ‘one car solution’”.

A very powerful one car solution. The M3 Touring’s 3.0-litre has been ramped up to 542bhp for the CS iteration, allowing a 0-62mph time of just 3.5s and top speed of 186mph. Other tweaks include a new exhaust, special chassis settings, big M carbon brakes, and a few external design changes. It’s 15kg lighter, too, but you could achieve more by eating less.

Turns out, all these changes turn it into something quite special indeed. “The CS shows every other fast estate how it should be done,” we concluded. You can read the full TopGear.com review of the M3 Touring – including this new CS – here.

Now, time to petition BMW to make a properly leichtbau, full-blown M3 CSL Touring…