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Someone has built the F80 M3 Competition Touring BMW never did

An F80 M3 like we’ve never seen

BMW F80 M3 Competition wagon conversion
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AN ONLINE classifieds site in the United Kingdom has revealed that a small BMW conversion company has built the 'Touring' version of the F80 series M3 we wished BMW had.

Hailing from Nottingham, M-Conversions has developed its own limited run of M3-powered 3 Series wagons called the MCT-450, and one of the 20 has popped up for sale.

Before you ask for how much, let’s run over what’s gone into to building one. From what we can tell, M Conversions has taken a standard previous-gen 320d M Sport and sacrificed its powertrain, suspension, body panels and interior to make way for an F80-series M3’s replacement components.

BMW F 80 M 3 Competition Wagon Conversion Side Jpg
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In this instance, an M3 Competition has donated the all-important M bits. So it packs a seven-speed dual clutch transmission, electronically controlled locking rear diff, adaptive dampers, M compound brakes and the all-important, somewhat-feared twin-turbo S55 3.0-litre inline-six with 331kW/550Nm.

We’ve reached out to the advertisers on the classified for more information, and whether there’s any tweaking involved to suit the wagon’s weight distribution, but from what we can see on the photos, things have been done well.

The interior’s replete with the Competition weight saving seats, while the centre console boasts the expected multi-mode buttons for changing either the suspension or powertrain on the fly. It’s also mentioned the MCT-450 also features the F80’s upgraded sub-frame and strut reinforcements.

BMW F 80 M 3 Competition Wagon Conversion Rear Jpg
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But while we imagine gutting and fitting a new powertrain and suspension setup might have been relatively straightforward, it’s the custom carbon fibre rear bumper and bespoke rear quarter panels, that meet the M3’s well-known width, that are most impressive. The MCT-450 even keeps the M3’s standard tail lights.

Listed at a very stiff £79,995 (converting to AU$159,900), with only around 4800km on the ODO, it’s easy to baulk at the sum given the F80 series car is wrapping up its life cycle and BMW’s slashed prices with Pure models to keep interest in the aging warrior that’s sometimes been seen as far less than perfect.

You can, at the moment in Oz, nab an BMW M3 Pure for $130K.

BMW F 80 M 3 Competition Wagon Conversion Interior Jpg
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But considering that Mercedes-AMG will run you up $168,900 for a C63 S Estate (before on roads), and Audi will need $152K from you for an RS4 Avant, it seems fairly priced given the work poured into it.

And ask yourself this, if BMW announced its own 20-strong run of M3 wagons to celebrate the F80’s life, and put each of them to auction, how much would you be willing to pay for what could be one of the sharpest steering wagons possible to ever touch tarmac? Yep, us too.

Louis Cordony
Contributor

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