Latest rumor on the interwebs comes from Bimmerfile and revolves around the possibility of seeing an M3 Sportswagon based on the current generation E9x M3.
According to their sources, BMW is toying with the idea of building an M3 Sportswagon before the current generation M3 is being phased out. While the project certainly can be delivered with somewhat minimal efforts, we are inclined to believe the chances of seeing an M3 Sportswagon are small to none.
First, BMW has a very limited timeframe to build and most important, test the vehicle. This can certainly be achieved by a tuner or a small shop, but delivering a car for mass production will require extensive testing, both from a functional and technical standpoint.
Second, the M3 Sedan sales have been lower than expected and BMW is already considering dropping the sedan from its next M3 line-up. A Sportswagon version would not make much more sense at the moment, despite having the potential of being a huge hit in Europe. The U.S. market still remains the most important market for M vehicles.
A note by the same BMW insider Scott27, mentions that in 2008 BMW did build an M3 Sportswagon prototype that originally evaluated against the sedan model. As expected, the U.S. market asked for the more appealing E90 sedan.
For now, we are taking these rumors with a grain of salt, but we wouldn’t mind if they turn out true.
[Photo by Worldcarfans ]
Author: Horatiu B.
Source: http://www.bmwblog.com/2011/01/27/rumor ... portwagon/