Car enthusiasts drool over high-performance wagons, and it’s little wonder why. With a low center of gravity and big trunk, performance wagons meld sports car handling and SUV-like cargo room like no other vehicle in the road.
Unfortunately, there are few enthusiasts that actually plunk down their hard-earned dollars on performance wagons. As a result, there aren’t many to choose from, and the future of the go-fast grocery-getter just got a little bleaker.
Even if they weren’t sold in the United States, BMW was one of the few automakers that dabbled in the realm of performance wagons. And with those wagons living abroad, there was always a tiny sliver of hope that they might one day make it to our shores. But in an interview published Monday in Car Magazine, BMW M boss Markus Flasch crushed the possibility of an M-tuned wagon, even for Europe.
“Touring estates are not part of our M plan,” he said. “If I asked customers in Austria, Switzerland or Germany they would probably give it the thumbs-up, but we are a global company and we have so many things to deal with on the powertrain side that we don’t go into products like this. This is what the SUVs are for.”
Indeed, BMW’s M division has been working on more SUVs recently. In addition to the X5 M that’s been around for a few model years, the division recently launched M-tuned versions of the X3 and X4. Although not a cool as an M3 wagon would be, according to us, those vehicles are worthy M3 sedan substitutes for people with kids or an active lifestyle.
Even though BMW is giving up on the high-performance wagon, other companies aren’t. Mercedes-AMG still offers its bonkers E63 wagon, and Audi will soon compete for well-heeled shoppers with its latest RS 6 Avant.
And speaking of other things the M division isn't working on, Flasch says there are no current plans to build a BMW-branded supercar, which has been the company line for the last few years.