The BMW 3 Series story

The BMW 3 Series has been a remarkable success.

For decades it’s been the sports saloon to beat. Many have tried, and most have failed. The model accounts for around 30% of total unit sales for BMW, and well over 12 million have been sold since 1975.

The 2018 Paris motor show sees the launch of an all-new 3 Series – its seventh generation. The 3 Series has long been a favourite for us here at Autocar – join us for the full story:

THE BEGINNING

The car that set the template for what today remains by far BMW’s most successful and important car was called, according to engine, the 1502, 1602 (pictured), 1802 or 2002. It took BMW, which was still recovering from being close to collapse in the 1950s, and set it on the course to becoming the massively respected global player it is today.

BMW 2002 Turbo

It was the 2002 that brought to market a state-of-the-art compact saloon that not only made sense for the family but also appealed to the driver, and it was the 2002 that, with the introduction of the Tii and Turbo (pictured), pioneered the concept of the ultra-sporting small BMW saloon.

These, in all but name, were the actual first M cars. History does not recall it as such, but it is the 2002 that was the true hero of this story, but because of a change of naming strategy, it must now prematurely depart the scene.

THE FIRST 3 SERIES: E21 - 1975

But not before it had proved the concept and made massively easier the job of designing its successor. It arrived 40 years ago and was known internally as the E21 but to everyone else very simply as the 3 Series.

These cars were all two-door saloons, which sounds like a contradiction in terms these days, but back then that was simply how it was done in that size category. 1975 was also the year that BMW opened its first official dealerships in the USA. The vast US market was crucial to the future success of BMW in general and the 3 Series in particular. A cool 1.36 million E21s were built.

E21: INTERIOR

In mechanical terms, they broke no new ground but were robustly built and engineered and featured an all-new interior with some of the clearest, best-looking instruments ever to be fitted to a road car, elements of whose design can still be found in BMWs today.

The early E21 cars were actually quite clunky, with their four-cylinder, carb-fed motors and limited performance, but they quite quickly got a lot more interesting with the introduction of fuel-injected six-cylinder engines of 2.0-litre and 2.3-litre capacity and the kind of options you very rarely find today, including a limited-slip differential and a close-ratio gearbox.

E21: 323i

And the 143bhp 323i needed both, because not only was its engine quite peaky, but its semi-trailing arm rear suspension also made it want to oversteer pretty much everywhere, especially in the wet. It was hugely successful and set BMW thinking that maybe the fast 3 Series idea was a theme worth developing.

E30 - 1982

By the standards of the day, the E21 didn’t last that long. It was replaced in 1982 by the E30, which was probably the most significant of all 3 Series generations. Whereas the E21 had been offered as a two-door saloon only (although Baur made convertible versions), closed E30s would in time be offered with two, four and, in Touring form, five doors and the convertible would be brought in-house.

E30: M3 (1986)

This was the first generation of 3 Series to be fitted with diesel engines and, most significant of all, it was the E30 platform that hosted BMW’s first volume-built M car, the M3 regarded by many to this day as the finest car BMW has ever built.

E30: 318iS

For those unwilling or unable to go the whole hog, BMW produced other, less powerful yet still superb driving machines on this chassis, including the 325i and still very underrated 318iS, which, with its twin-cam, four-valve 1.8-litre engine, rightly earned the reputation as being an M3 for those who couldn’t afford an M3.

And as this photo suggests, the 318iS, like the range as a whole, was perfect for a certain type of upwardly-mobile individual that became commonplace in the ‘80s. The E30 was a brilliant success for BMW – 2.3 million cars were sold.

E36 - 1992

The E30 spent a decade in production and was replaced by the E36 in 1992, a car that will never receive the same plaudits as the E21 or E30 but which was, in fact, probably a finer effort than either. Until then, the 3 Series had always been fun and sufficiently quiet and comfortable to fit into family life, but priorities changed subtly for the E36.

Although the car remained more dynamic by far than the Mercedes-Benz 190 and later C-Class competitor that would appear during the E36’s lifetime, it also reached a level of sophistication that no previous 3 Series would recognise.

E36 - INTERIOR

Partly this was due to greater interior space and dramatically improved materials lending the car a new sense of occasion and maturity, but the perhaps bigger yet hidden change was the deletion of semi-trailing arm rear suspension and the adoption of BMW’s multi-link Z axle. True, it meant less oversteer for the drift jockeys, but the seven-league leap in ride quality and stability was of rather greater use.

E36: M3

E36 cars had their detractors, none more so than the M3, which lost its motorsport-focused four-cylinder motor and on-the-limit feel and crispness, but for most people this was not only the best 3 Series yet but also the best small saloon (or coupé, hatch, estate or convertible) in the world. A full 2.7 million E36s examples were sold.

E46 - 1998

This success is why the E46 that replaced it in 1998 was entirely evolutionary in approach and, in that respect, the complete antithesis to the clean-sheet design that had been the E36 in 1992. The platform was new but, architecturally, very much informed by that of its predecessor.

No more body configurations were added as BMW focused on optimising the earlier design by improving aerodynamics, reducing weight and increasing torsional rigidity. Few thought the E36 in any need of replacement, so the success of the E46, which was better in all respects that mattered, was assured.

E46: 320D

However, it did herald major developments. This was the era in which diesel power went from being a novelty niche performer to a major player and the E46 introduced the 320d, a car capable of close to both 130mph and 50mpg, a combination never seen in a road car before, and the 330d, a diesel car that would hit 62mph in less than 8.0sec and reach more than 140mph, numbers unimaginable for any diesel car just a few years earlier.

3 Series diesels proved wildly popular in Europe where pricey fuel was a key consideration, and indeed the 320D accordingly became the best-selling version in most of Europe.

E46: M3 (2000)

This was also the generation in which BMW sought to re-establish the credentials of the M3. Out went the slow-selling saloon version and in came a 3.2-litre motor that hit 8000rpm and developed a stunning 343bhp without a turbo in sight.

E46: M3 CSL

There was BMW’s first production SMG paddle-shift transmission (better in theory than practice) and, perhaps most significant of all, the M3 CSL, which dropped 110kg in weight, added a carbonfibre roof, featured stiffer suspension and gained a 16bhp power hike.

Just 1400 were built, although those who missed the boat could get a far more affordable CS that lacked the CSL’s wacky materials and hot engine but retained its steering, brakes and suspension.

3.3 million E46s were sold – yet another sales generation record for the 3 Series.

E90 - 2005

By 2005, an entirely new 3 Series was required, but on the basis of not fixing what was clearly not broken, the all-new E90 sought to expand further on the theme of the E36 and E46 without fundamentally changing the formula. The number of bodystyles didn’t change (although the convertible gained a retractable hard-top), but the powertrains offered an ever greater choice of performance and economy options, or blends between the two.

This picture features the 335i, a proper wolf-in-sheep’s clothing with 302bhp in power from a turbocharged engine, the first time the 3 received such treatment.

E90: M3

It was the E90 M3 that eschewed the straight six motors of the two previous models for a howling 4.0-litre V8, and it was the E90 that introduced BMW’s most powerful six-cylinder diesel up to that point: the 286bhp 335d, offering as much power from a 3.0-litre diesel as BMW had offered from a 4.4-litre petrol V8 10 years earlier.

3.1 million E90s were sold in total.

F30 – 2011

And so to the outgoing car, the F30, which in many ways was the most revolutionary 3 Series since the E36. Emissions and economy are now the most important considerations, which is why even a 328i has just four cylinders, sixes being saved for the 335i, 330d, 335d and, of course, the first turbocharged M3, a radical step in its own right.

F30: 3 Series GT

You could now buy a four-wheel-drive 3 Series and a new body shape in the form of the large hatchback 3 Series GT (pictured). Starting in 2016, you could even get a plug-in hybrid version, the 330e. What you could no longer do, in name at least, is buy a coupé or convertible 3 Series, these now rebadged 4 Series.

G20 – 2019

And so to the new car - its seventh generation, internally named G20. We are promised a classy interior, with widespread use of digital instruments for the first time. But as always with the 3 Series, the driving experience is key.

Autocar recently drove a camouflaged prototype G20 330i M Sport (pictured). Our initial verdict? 

"It has a carefully honed blend of low-speed agility, high-speed stability, level body control, traction and driveability that makes it feel assured and capable — almost indefatigable, even — when driven hard. Both on road and on track, it showed off levels of outright grip, handling precision and dynamic composure all worthy of a proper ‘performance car’ billing."

We can’t wait to put the finished car through its paces – we have high hopes that the mighty past of the 3 Series will continue into the future.