What initially seemed like a humorous idea for social media turned into one of the weekend's biggest surprises at this year's 24 Hours of Nürburgring. The BMW M3 Touring 24H, specially built for the endurance classic, wrote its own success story in the „Green Hell.“.
In front of a record crowd of over 350,000 spectators, the spectacular combined car not only reached the finish line but sensationally achieved fifth place overall, while also winning the SPX class. The project exceeded all expectations. Internally, a top ten finish was already considered an ambitious goal.
The BMW M3 Touring 24H originated from an idea originally released as an April Fool's joke. However, fan reaction was so positive that BMW M Motorsport actually implemented the concept. Within a few months, a uncompromising racing car was created based on the production M3 Touring, incorporating numerous components from the BMW M4 GT3 EVO. The goal was not to present a pure show car, but a competitive vehicle for the toughest racetrack in the world.
In the race itself, the Touring impressively showed that there was much more behind the unusual concept than just a PR stunt. The driver quartet of Jens Klingmann, Connor De Phillippi, Ugo de Wilde, and Neil Verhagen completed a nearly flawless race. The striking combination quickly established itself in the leading group and was even on podium course at times. In the end, they achieved fifth place overall – a result that even optimists had hardly thought possible beforehand.
The other BMW teams also proved to be competitive. The BMW M4 GT3 EVO entered by ROWE Racing with starting number 99 narrowly missed the podium, finishing in fourth place. After an early spin, the driver team impressively fought their way back and also secured second place in the Intercontinental GT Challenge standings. The defending champion car, number 1, was less fortunate, retiring early on Saturday evening due to a technical issue. Another BMW M4 GT3 EVO from Schubert Motorsport reached the top ten in ninth place.
In addition to strong overall standings, the BMW teams achieved numerous class victories. A total of eight class wins went to vehicles of the brand – from the M4 GT4 EVO to various touring car categories.
BMW M Motorsport was understandably pleased after the race. The touring project, in particular, became a crowd favorite over the weekend. Those in charge emphasized that the unusual racing kombi had impressively proven itself to be competitive at the highest level. At the same time, BMW announced that the BMW M3 Touring 24H will also be presented at select events in the future.
For many fans, the spectacular combination vehicle is likely already among the most extraordinary cars ever to start at the Nürburgring 24 Hours race. What started as a joke became a serious race car within a few months – and in the end, perhaps one of the most beautiful stories of this year's race.