Whilst there is zero doubt that the biggest single fan favourite in the 2026 Nurburgring 24 Hours field is Max Verstappen, the Dutchman is far from the only storyline attracting a following this year.
There’s the perennial fan-favourite Dacia Logan, of course, and the trio of throwback HWA Evos in the SPX class, too, will be followed faithfully by many.
But there’s another effort too that is a ready-made honeypot for the fans to follow, a car that follows in a proud tradition of N24 oddball entries, but one that, beyond the headlines, has the potential to feature at or near the sharp end of the race. BMW M Motorsport’s one-off M3 Touring 24H.
DSC caught up with head of BMW M Motorsport Andreas Roos to talk about the effort:
We know the marketing messages around it were that the M3 Touring was built to make an April Fool’s joke a reality. Was it that simple? Was it a response to the public response to it?
‘The story is a bit longer, because the road car came in 2022 and we, even then, had a discussion about what could be done with it.
“The idea came up with the April Fool, just to make nice renderings.
“Actually, the renderings we had already, I think maybe already one year before, because we had a discussion about the Touring back at its launch in 2022, then somebody said, Let’s make a rendering of how the car could look like as a race car.
“As for the April Fool. I mean, the impact was massive, and yes we discussed the reaction to it, the positivity and let’s see what we can do.
“For sure, nowadays, with all the difficulties we have just purely looking at the news and the automotive industry, it’s not easy to just say, let’s do something.
“So we thought about how we could do this and talked to all of our partners. With a collector behind the scenes who wanted to work with us that helped and so we were pulling together a way to get this parcel together.
“And then we found a way, and said, Come on, let’s do it. And then, in a very small group, the design started, because the time period was quite short.
“And for us, it was always clear, we don’t just build a show car. If we do it, we do a proper race car.
“There was also once the idea if we maybe did a GT4 version, which is far easier, and far cheaper.
“But we decided that the message would be much better if we tried to be in the top category and do something really outstanding. And this is why we selected the M3 Touring with GT3 technology.”
Was it always the idea to race rather than present a race-derived concept?
“Because it’s really a competition-derived car, a pure M model, as a touring car where you can drive, from A to B easily with your dog, but you can also go to the Nürburgring, for example, and have fun.
“The Nurburgring, I don’t know how many years it was since I was here the first time as a spectator. It’s a unique thing for the real fan, a community.
“And this is why also coming back to us makes sense. This same community reacted so positively about our Touring.
“The Nurburgring is a bit of our home tour. We have the most overall victories there. Everybody knows that we do all the development on the Nurburgring.”
How much interest was there internally in the project?
“When we started to discuss it, and that was a VERY small group at the beginning, we didn’t dream that we would be able to keep it really secret for a very long time.
“We started discussing, and planning and then I did the driver planning.
“And whenever there’s a special project, some of our drivers get very curious, particularly when they don’t really know what the project is!
“They have a group chat, and I know that got very busy as they tried to work out what this project was! Even with all of that happening, it was a major surprise for us that we could keep it secret for so long.
“In fact, it held completely until one week before the official launch, when suddenly something was out there.
“But the reality was that we were testing already way before that with the car on the BMW proving grounds and then in Miramar. We had a rollout, or a shakedown, at the plant.
“The car was built in Munich, in the workshop. And then, for sure you can’t keep it behind some screens forever. But still, for sure, there was also, internally at BMW, so much enthusiasm about it.
“I remember when we did the first fire up of the car, there was a huge crowd of BMW internal people, which, at the end. It’s a GT3. The engine is the same. Everything sounds the same thing. But they were there because this was unique, and so was I!
“I had it in my calendar to be there for the startup, because it’s a good sport and that was a great sporting moment.”
So just how close to a GT3 is it? Did your guys effectively lift the body off an M4 GT3 and put a touring body with aerodynamic additions on it?
“Actually, the idea was very close to this. So we checked and in the first feasibility studies. The principle was to have as many parts as possible cross over from the M4 GT3 Evo into the touring. And actually, you will be impressed by how many parts we did that with!
“For example, I would have also not thought at the beginning that the complete underfloor of the car is identical.
“Everything from the beginning of the windscreen to the front is 100% identical, because there the two road cars are identical. From there on, the differences start because the angle of the windscreen is different between the M3 and the M4; the windscreen itself is the same, but the roof height is different.
“Also the rear wing is exactly the same, but the position is different, but the rear wing is exactly the same, the rear diffuser is also exactly the same. So all the suspension, everything the same.
“But for sure, the Touring itself, when you look at the normal road car Touring and the M4, for example, the suspension, especially on the rear axle, is different.
“This car is four or basically five doors, even it’s built underneath as a GT3. The major changes started with the door because the door of a four-door car is much smaller than that of a two-door coupe.
“So the seat position in the car is slightly different. But actually, we also tried to do that exactly like the GT3, so it’s the same steering column, the same pedal box.”
Presumably, that has some impact on the weight balance?
“A tiny bit. I mean, the base car itself is a bit heavier because there is just more metal on the car, but the wheelbase is exactly the same, and with BoP in play, the marginal weight difference is not a problem
“There is also one very interesting part of this project – None of our GT3 cars can have a passenger seat – but in this Touring you can!
“This was something we said from the very start, because it starts already with the roll cage.
“The roll cage on a normal GT3 car doesn’t have the double cross for the passenger safety, because you don’t need it on a normal GT3 car, and for weight reasons, you don’t do it. But the Touring we clearly said, that the premise was that the car had to have the possibility to put in a passenger seat.
“It was a bit of challenge, because the car is anyway, heavier. Putting the heavier roll cage is not helping. But then we managed to do it.
“It’s kind of wait and see what the owner decides to do on that front.”
We’ve seen a programme for where the car will appear this year. This race will be its only major race. Is there a plan beyond this for that car?
“The car will definitely do something like a road show, but then it’s a bit down to the collector.”
Okay, so it has an owner?
“It has an owner, yeah, which for him was very interesting because it’s a one-off car. I mean, there are not so many one-off cars, and it’s absolutely a one-off car, it was way.
“I guess the car will appear somewhere else, too. But on the other hand, there is no real championship where you can run the car because there is no homologation for a car like this, because a GT3 car can only be a two-door car.
“There are very few Championships or races that have an experimental class. Maybe in the future the owner says, I want to do a race day or whatever – maybe then we’ll race the car again.”
This must be the kind of project that enthusiasts like you and your team must really love?
“Yeah, it’s huge fun and an instant classic!”
Is this a unique car. You said that there must have been interest in you doing more like this?
“We always think about what we can do, and we have some, let’s say, creative guys who think about these things, but it has to fit. This year it’s 40 years of M3, the first M3 was 1986, so this fitted together perfectly.”
