Official Release: During the course of more than three and a half decades, the face of the BMW 3 Series has constantly evolved. Designers have always managed to incorporate dynamics, innovation and aesthetics into a harmonious, modern and future-oriented overall concept, whilst at the same time preserving traditional values. As a result, each BMW 3 Series has retained its unmistakable brand identity and can be identified as a BMW at very first glance. However, the roots of the BMW Series reach back as far as the 1960s….
As a manufacturer of sporty, elegant sedans, BMW had at that time already developed a characteristic profile. With a notchback body design, front-mounted engines and rear-wheel drive, a basic principle was established back then (BMW 1500/2000) that still prevails to this very day. With the arrival of the BMW 1600 in 1966, the 2-door 02 Series, which produced such famous models as the 1600ti or the 2002tii, was launched on to the automotive market and eventually replaced by the BMW 3 Series.
With BMW preparing to release it’s latest 3 Series, now’s a great time to look back what the history of the most important model in BMW’s history. The story starts in 1975 with the E20…
With BMW readying both its new 3 Series (F30) and the M3 DTM car, folks at BMW PR have decided it’s a good time to take a look back at the racing history of the model.
Official Release: Over the 5 generations since its launch, the BMW 3 Series has enjoyed a most impressive career. This applies to its market success, but also especially to its career in motorsports. During the past 35 years, the 3 Series models with their characteristic compact dimensions, dynamic engines and sporty suspension have contributed considerably towards dynamic performance and the brand’s excellent reputation on the racetrack. With such attributes, BMW’s midrange model is ideally suited for successful use in motorsports in particular. With its return in 2012 to the DTM, a top motorsport category, BMW intends to replicate its earlier successes with the BMW M3 DTM now currently under development.
You know it must be time for a new 3 Series if BMW is publishing press releases like this. Regardless of why it’s a great read through the history of the car that has been the stalwart of the brand for over 30 years now. And it’s a fascinating glimpse into engine tech over the years.
Official Release: For 36 years now, the BMW 3 Series has profited more than almost any other model series from its fascinating drive technology. During a period spanning five generations, BMW 3 Series engines have time and time again been pioneers of innovative technology and milestones in engine construction. As a result, the four and six-cylinder power units, each of them having been the most modern of their time, have created the basis for the success of the internationally coveted, sporty midrange series. And what’s more: with its dynamic and consistently highly efficient drive technology, the BMW 3 Series became the founder of a new category of sports-oriented vehicles and, at the same time, a bestseller within the premium segment. With each new model, the series was able to expand this position even as more and more competitors began to adopt the concept of sporty, compact premium segment sedans.
As BMW gets ready to unveil it’s 6th generation 3 Series it’s allowing us to take a look back with a thorough recounting (from their prospective) of each generation.
Official Release: If there is such a thing as a typical BMW, then it is without a doubt the BMW 3 Series. In the medium-size class it is considered the embodiment of the sports sedan and has maintained this leading role for many years unchallenged at the top of the premium segment. Since debuting in the year 1975, more than 12 million customers worldwide have purchased a BMW 3 Series, even though the car cannot be associated with any typical customer segment. So the reasons for this remarkable success are manifold.
Then as now, the BMW 3 Series concept was unique – a compact and elegant body design, modern and efficient engines, a classic rear-wheel drive concept and a sporty suspension setup. The result was a maximum degree of driving dynamics and agility. Moreover, BMW demonstrated a strong sense for the spirit of the time and the individual wishes of potential customers. This in turn resulted in innovative body concepts and additional technical features that competitors were unable to offer. In this respect as well, the BMW 3 Series was the first to set the benchmark in the midrange sports sedan segment. The latest examples of this are the measures implemented within the framework of BMW EfficientDynamics, thanks to which the BMW 3 Series achieves the lowest fuel consumption and emission levels in its class.
The naturally aspirated gasoline engine is dead. As dead as 15″ wheels and roll-up windows. A generation from now no one under 25 years old will even know the experience of winding up a BMW inline six without a turbo sucking exhaust gasses out of it.
The need for efficiency and ever increasing performance have dictated a sea-change that will alter what we’ve known BMW’s to be forever. Consider the following the fact: the E9X M3 will be the last naturally aspirated M product. Or (even more shocking) that the current 128i, 328i and X3 28i are the last naturally aspirated BMW products to be sold in the US. Once those three models are gone it’s all turbos for as far as the eye can see.
Let’s start with the fact that we love the S54B32. The engine started life in the late Z3 M Coupe then moved to the E46 M3 and finally ended life in the Z4 M Coupe. And those just happen to be three of our favorite M cars of all time. So why all the love? Let’s let our friends at Jalopnik (who both asks and answers the original question) take it from here:
What makes the S54B32 so wonderful is the noise. It’s the only engine this side of supercar lunacy that has such a—for lack of a better word—voluminous sound. You’ll know it when you’re around one when the air around you suddenly fills with this high-grade metallic substance, this gray-blue vapor of noise that fills an S54B32’s surroundings with such fearful urgency.
Yes it’s the noise. It’s also the feel and the hi-revving nature of the engine. Then the look. Oh and it’s an inline six. The hardest to package yet more inherently smooth configuration for an engine made today.
Ben Barry from British automotive magazine Car had a chance to do some back to back laps in every generation of M3 ever made at the Ascari test drive at a recent press event. As you’d expect (if you’ve ever read Car or Mr. Barry) his conclusions are nuanced and quite interesting. Here are a few excerpts:
I started with the E30 Sport Evo, a black one with just 7000km. Yes, it feels slow these days, the four-cylinder engine is a bit coarse, and that dog-leg gearbox takes some getting used to, but the steering is superb and – the best bit – the front end just goes where you point it. No understeer, no sense of weight pulling you wide of the apex. It just points and points and points until you ask to much of it and, eventually – through momentum rather than power – it oversteers.
Lovely car, the Sport Evo, and you can understand why us hacks slated its bigger, softer successor – the E36 – when it appeared in the early ’90s. But I’m fond of these cars – I’ve had two, the 3.0-litre coupe that I still own, and a 3.2-litre saloon – and it was a treat to drive a virtually factory fresh Daytona Violet 3.0-litre coupe and compare it with my leggy 3.0-litre that I’ve long ago converted into a trackday toy.
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We believe in the old school BMW ownership experience. We believe in garage nights with a six pack and some friends. We believe in 2002s, in E30 M3s and E34 540s with the 6 speed. We believe in progress in both design and engineering but we haven't lost sight of what made the brand and its products great all those years ago. And yes, we believe in the manual transmission.
We long for the days of the wave and for the days of roll-up windows. Yet we love the gadgets on the inside and the xenons on the outside.
In short, we can't get enough of BMWs. This is BimmerFile.
Sections: E21 3 Series, E30 3 Series, E36 3 Series, E46 3 Series, E90 3 Series, F30 3 Series Jan 13th, 2012 2 Comments 
