BMW Announces New 543-Horsepower M3 CS Touring, But We Americans Can’t Have It

If you live in America, at least, you won't be able to buy one

BMW’s most hardcore M3 gets a lot more practical, but it’s forbidden fruit for the U.S. market.

SUVs are all the rage these days, but there’s just something about a cool, fast wagon that captures the imagination. That’s why we love the likes of the BMW M5 Touring and the Mercedes-AMG E63 S, and there’s yet another powerful station wagon joining the party: the new BMW M3 CS Touring. Essentially, in classic CS tradition, it’s a more powerful and lighter version of the M3 Competition Touring that joined the German automaker’s lineup last year. Sadly though, and exactly like the standard M3 wagon, we won’t get this CS model in America at all.

And if you feel like a protest is in order to bring it here, I’m right there with you.

Why? Because the CS gets a nice and hearty 543 horsepower (up 20 from the Competition) out of its S58 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged inline-six engine. With that, you get an updated active exhaust system with electronically controlled baffles and a titanium rear silencer, stiffer engine mounts, a beefed up cooling and oil supply setup and more boost (30.5 psi instead of 24.7). Torque remains the same as before, at 479 lb-ft, as does the 8-speed automatic transmission and xDrive all-wheel drive system. Nevertheless, you still get a more spacious wagon body that’ll just happen to sprint from 0 to 62 mph in 3.5 seconds. Get it with the M Driver’s package, and you’ll even get a top speed of 186 mph.

On the outside, the BMW M3 CS Touring gets a host of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) to trim some pounds (or kilograms, since we’re talking about an overseas launch), and even more of the lightweight material makes its way into the cabin. As you’d expect, the CS is resplendent in carbon fiber accents, sporty bucket seats and an Alcantara-covered flat-bottom steering wheel. All the effort to keep weight at bay makes this model about 15 kilograms — or 33 pounds — lighter than the M3 Competition Touring. That’s just under 4,250 pounds, in other words, but when you’re taking more of a track focus, every little bit counts right?

Buyers in Europe and Australia, Japan, South Korea and select other regions will get first crack at the new BMW M3 CS Touring when deliveries kick off in March. Pricing in Germany starts off at €152,900 (or about $159,000 if we actually got it here at the appropriate exchange rate). All models get yellow-accented LED headlights as a nod to BMW’s GT race cars, and will be available to those who can buy them in four colors: Frozen Solid White, Sapphire Black, Laguna Seca Blue as shown here, or British Racing Green.

Oh well…at least we’re getting a hot BMW wagon with the M5 Touring. So that’s something.