We’ve been seeing BMW testing the wagon version of the new i3 a number of times, including around the Nürburgring. This time, we’re finally seeing it on track. It also seems to be the third example we’ve seen, since each one our spy photographer has caught has been a different color (white, silver, and now black). It’s also sporting the same odd camouflage with just the nose and tail covered in vinyl wrap.
Importantly, we’re still really digging the way this i3 Touring looks.
BMW i3 Touring prototype from the frontCarBuzz / Valnet
The coverings at the front still have us the most puzzled. We’re fairly confident that the front end will be identical to that of the sedan, even the air intakes map to the sedan’s bumper. Though having anything hiding the nose has us thinking something may have been changed just for the wagon, even if we can’t see it.
BMW i3 Touring prototype from the front three-quarter angleCarBuzz / Valnet
The fact that the fenders also seem to be unchanged, along with most of the sides further supports our suspicion that the nose is the same, just that BMW is covering it as a red herring.
Where the real changes begin are around the upper part of the rear doors and the roof. The roofline continues its gentle curve instead of suddenly dropping down toward a trunk lid. This also means that the top of the rear door is longer with more glass area.
BMW i3 Touring prototype from the rear three-quarter angleCarBuzz / Valnet
Furthermore, the slight rise in the rear door windowsill continues backward and slightly upward over the rear wheels and below the rear quarter glass. The shape mimics the design on the outgoing 3 Series wagon, and it minimizes what little Hofmeister Kink was visible on the sedan.
BMW i3 Touring prototype from the rear three-quarter angleCarBuzz / Valnet
The tail has a pretty conventional-looking hatchback that leans fairly far forward, and the rear bumper should be quite similar to the sedan since we can even see the little fins suggesting a rear diffuser. Nearly full-width taillights also match the sedan, and the high, bulging fenders of the sedan seem even more prominent, here, with how the upper wagon section tapers toward the end.
BMW i3 Touring prototype from the frontCarBuzz / Valnet
Specifications for the wagon should be virtually identical to the sedan. The only powertrain that has been announced so far with dual motors sending 463 horsepower and 476 pound-feet of torque to all four wheels for as far as 468 miles.
BMW i3 Touring prototype from the rearCarBuzz / Valnet
BMW previously said that the wagon would follow the launches of the i3 and its SUV counterpart, the iX3. So we suspect it will show up sometime next year.
BMW i3 Touring prototype from the sideCarBuzz / Valnet
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:
The big question is whether it will come to America. We don’t have high hopes for the regular wagon, since BMW will have the iX3 available. However, BMW has found that it can sell a solid number of wagons when they’re paired with M performance. This was demonstrated with better-than-expected M5 Touring sales. They were good enough that BMW said it was considering a next-generation M3 Touring for the US. So really, the question might be whether BMW would offer a combustion M3 Touring in the US, and/or an electric iM3 Touring.
Obviously, we’d like both, but we’d be more than happy with one or the other.
