This 3 Series Race Car Was Too Wide To Fit On The Trailer, So BMW Improvised

BMW Basic’s Instagram account is a treasure trove of automotive historical past. In case you missed it, we not too long ago noticed the unique 7 Collection carrying funky camouflage throughout testing. However the story doesn’t cease there: the identical yr the E23 debuted, BMW’s motorsport division ran right into a logistical hiccup. In 1977, the automotive transporters meant to haul the 320 Group 5 race automobiles couldn’t carry the track-ready E21s.

Why? The race-spec 3 Collection was just too large to suit on the trailers, so BMW needed to improvise. Spectacular photos from almost half a century in the past present the “Flying Brick” being towed by a first-generation, right-hand-drive 5 Collection. It’s not simply any E12, however a base 518 with a carbureted M10 engine producing 89 horsepower. Sufficient punch, apparently, to haul a race automotive all the best way to the Kyalami circuit in South Africa.

Seeing these race automobiles out on the highway, towed by two 5 Collection fashions, should’ve been a sight to behold. For context, the N1 is a nationwide route in South Africa operating from Cape City by Bloemfontein, Johannesburg, and Pretoria. These large fenders on the E21s should’ve turned loads of heads in visitors.

BMW fanatics will even recall that 1977 was the yr Roy Lichtenstein reworked a Group 5 E21 into the third official BMW Art Car. The Jägermeister livery is arguably probably the most beloved amongst Group 5 followers. Whereas the unique 3 Collection highway automotive topped out at 141 hp, the race-ready E21 had over thrice that energy. The 1979-spec model with its iconic orange livery produced 443 hp from a turbocharged 1.4-liter engine, hitting peak energy at a screaming 9,000 rpm and reaching 180 mph (290 km/h).

Quick-forward to 2026, and BMW is getting ready to retire the seventh-generation 3 Collection to make method for the new G50. It received’t arrive alone: an electrical model, the i3 (NA0), can also be launching this yr. The EV is prone to get a Touring variant, and there’s hope that the combustion-engine mannequin will as soon as once more see a wagon physique type. All 4 are prone to get the M Efficiency and M remedy, so the long run seems good for each ICE and EV followers.