The CS version of the Competition Touring they originally said we couldn’t have? It’s here before year end.

TURNS out ‘nein’ actually means ‘ja’ in respect to chance to the ultra-everything version of the BMW M3 Touring.

Back in January, BMW’s regional operation - which bases in Australia and oversees New Zealand - used the occasion of the annual Bathurst 12-hour, the biggest tussle for for production sports models in this part of the world, to take the wraps off the first ever M3 Competition Sport (CS) Touring.

That they invited some NZ media along to the New South Wales circuit was a bittersweet thing - because it was made very clear that this seriously high-performance family wagon was to be forbidden fruit for Kiwis.

Six months on …. the black heart is off the black list.

Announcement yesterday is that we will get a taste of it after al; first examples landing toward the end of the year as a limited count choice.

BMW hasn’t said what limited means and it also hasn’t explained why the u-turn.

But it has made clear this tastiest version won’t be a cheap meal.

With a tag of $279,900, the ultimate Three hauler is a whopping $83,300 more than the M3 Touring Competition, which by happenstance was tested on June 4.

It’s also $48k more expensive that the bigger wild wagon in the M Division, the M5 Touring.

What warrants the hefty premium? Some of it is the price paid for achieving ultimate preening status. As mentioned in the review, if you equate spend to seconds saved, then it’s a big extra price to pay.

With a claimed 0-100kmh time of 3.5 seconds, the CS will beat the Competition to the legal limit by a mere 0.1s. However, it’s tangibly faster in the 0-200kmh sprint, with BMW claiming 11.7s, and has a higher top speed. This hound hauler will hit 300kmh.

The two M3 Tourings have the same 3.0-litre twin turbo in-line petrol six.

But, with 405kW and 650Nm, the CS has 15kW more than the regular car … but is still 130kW shy of the output cited for the M5’s electric-assisted V8.

In either M3 Touring guise, all-wheel drive is standard, with ability to turn it all off for a purely rear-wheel experience, and all that oomph transfers via an eight-speed automatic.

M3 Competition Touring achieved top marks in assessment for its supernatural traction; gifted handling and the minimal premium it held over the M4 coupe and M3 sedan. The MotoringNZ.com conclusion was that it is “a belting all-rounder for a rarefied market segment.”

The CS Touring is even in rarer company. BMW currently has just one other CS product in the portfolio, that being the M2 CS, which is also not quite here yet.

That baby is a $206,900 choice - a $60,400 lift above that asked for the ‘everyman’ M2 - rising a further $19k if you stipulate it with carbon brakes.

On visual inspection, a M3 Competition Touring and an M3 CS Touring are much of a much-ness; it’s all down to to detailing.

CS brings more carbon to go with the extra oomph, in the bucket seats, bonnet, splitter, and bits around the exterior.

Other CS-specific stuff includes M Compound brakes, the M Driver’s package, a titanium exhaust, M front strut brace, and staggered 19-in front/20-inch rear forged wheels.

In CS format, the adaptive suspension and steering have been retuned for even faster response.

Everything builds on the standard M3 Competition Touring’s list of standard kit, which already includes many specialised items such as M adaptive dampers. It also comes with a carbon interior trim, Live Cockpit Professional with head-up display, M seat belts and wireless smartphone charging.