BMW M340i Autobahn Run Shows You Don't Always Need An M3

With just a few engine tweaks, the M Performance wagon becomes a monster.

BMW M340i Touring Autobahn run

Angel Sergeev

By: Angel Sergeev

Mar 22, 2023 at 3:01am ET

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BMW has some of the fastest and most powerful production vehicles currently on sale. The truth, however, is that not many of us can afford a new M3 or M5, which basically means Bavaria’s finest performance cars aren’t exactly mainstream products. Just below the full-blown M products, there are very capable and much more affordable M Performance versions of those cars, though. And they are by no means worse than their more expensive and powerful brothers.

This is surely the case with the M340i. It is positioned right below the M3 (and the Alpina B3) in the company’s hierarchy, offering more conservative looks combined with a powerful and smooth 3.0-liter turbocharged engine. A new video filmed at the German Autobahn shows us a modified example of the M340i in Touring form giving its best performance on an unrestricted section of highway. And it is pretty much capable of the same acceleration and top speed as a factory M3 Touring.

Gallery: 2023 BMW M3 Touring

2022 BMW M3 Touring

In standard form, as mentioned, the M340i gets its power from a 3.0-liter inline-six cylinder engine with 382 horsepower between 5,800 – 6,500 rpm and 369 pound-feet of torque between 1,800 – 5,000 rpm. These alone are great numbers, but after a number of hardware and software tweaks under the hood, this particular car now offers 460 hp, which is around what the Alpina B3 has.

The B58 engine is known to be quite tunable and this video proves you can always squeeze more power out of it, resulting in better overall performance. The highest velocity figure we saw on the dashboard was 181 miles per hour (292 kilometers per hour), well above what most cars do today (155 mph/250 kph). It always felt like the fast wagon could do even more but traffic on the Autobahn isn’t always particularly friendly with people putting cars to their limits on public roads.

Do You Like The M3 Better?

See How Fast A BMW M3 Touring Can Go On The Autobahn

Is BMW M3 Sedan Quicker Than M3 Touring In A Drag Race?

What do you think?

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So, what is your choice – a factory and unmodified M3 Touring or a tuned M340i? If money isn’t a problem, we’d probably go with the M3 Touring as we really like the more aggressive body kit. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the M340i, though.

Note: 2023 BMW M3 Touring pictured in the gallery above.

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