E46 M3 Touring That Never Existed Just Sold for $66k

A humble 323i wagon was painstakingly turned into an E46 M3 Touring—the slice of manual transmission heaven that BMW never built.

In this world, there are plenty of cars that manufacturers never built despite our deepest wishes that they did. One of those is the BMW E46 M3 Touring. A wagon version of one of the greatest variants of BMW’s legendary sports sedan would have been all too alluring for us mere mortals. The stock markets would have crashed, governments would have been overthrown, and a world-ending nuclear event would have been imminent. BMW knew not to bring that to the masses. However, someone in Southern California decided to give it a go.

This phenomenal thing just sold on Cars and Bids for a cool price of $66,000. While that is a ton of money, we can’t really say it’s unreasonable. After all, this is a car that was never actually a thing. Sure, BMW did build a concept of one, but it never went into production. Furthermore, while a lot of parts are interchangeable with the sedan, a whole host of other parts are not. This was far more than just a quick conversion. This is a piece of well-thought-out art.

Down to Every Detail

Perhaps the most impressive part of this car is the body lines on the rear quarter panels and rear doors. As you’re probably aware, the M3 has a much wider body than a standard E46 3-Series model. So, a simple swap of the body components should do the trick, right? That’s true for the front fenders, but again, the E46 M3 Touring never existed. Therefore, the conversion of the rear required custom fabrication of fender flares to mimic those of the M3. Just looking at it, you might not immediately appreciate it for what it is. When you think about the hours of planning, design, fabrication, and finishing that went into it, though, you start to really appreciate the time and detail that this took.

Of course, it doesn’t just walk the M3 walk. Thanks to its S54 swap and six-speed manual transmission, it also talks the talk. Before you ask, yes, the owner replaced the rod bearings. The engine also has some upgrades like a Lang Racing resurfaced crankshaft, Beisan Systems VANOS upgrades, and a lightweight flywheel/clutch combo. Further M3 components include brakes, subframe with reinforcements, steering rack, tie rods, control arms, spindles, sway bars, top hats, seats, rearview mirror, dead pedal, door sills, exhaust, exhaust manifold gaskets, grilles, hoods, mirrors, bumpers, headlights, instrument cluster, etc. Every. Last. Detail.

A Performance-Oriented Cherry on Top

To top it all off, it has a set of Bilstein PSS9 coilovers to keep it nice and planted. While there are some minor flaws and a minor accident reported on the Carfax, it seems pretty clear that this is a well-loved vehicle. So, while $66,000 for a 25-year-old station wagon may seem insane to some, we think it’s a totally reasonable purchase. If you’ve got the money and wanted a unique E46, there isn’t really much else to compare it to.

Photos: Cars and Bids