BMW Spotlights 3 Series Owner Stories Ahead Of G50 Debut

Final 12 months, BMW celebrated half a century of the three Collection with a retrospective on the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. There have been additionally quite a few regional particular editions marking the milestone, so it’s secure to say the anniversary didn’t go unnoticed. Whereas the golden jubilee has come and gone, 2026 can be much more necessary for the 3er. Later this 12 months, the next-generation mannequin will break cowl.

Earlier than the G50 arrives, BMW is seeking to the previous by sharing possession tales spanning all seven generations. From the unique E21 to the G20/G21, the video highlights why fanatics recognize the three Collection. Household patrons can be happy to see the Touring properly represented by the E30, F31, and G21. Not solely that, however the oldest long-roof mannequin within the lineup options an extremely rad matching trailer constructed by merging two rear ends. The most recent instance is a private favourite: an M340i Touring.

Whereas diesel engines are sometimes frowned upon today, the video doesn’t draw back from oil-burners. An E46 seems in Imola Pink, particularly a 320Cd that has lived a troubled life after being caught in a flash flood. The F31, in the meantime, is represented by a 328d wagon, the final time BMW offered a diesel-powered 3 Collection in america.

The E21 featured within the video seems as if it simply rolled off the meeting line. Its proprietor retains a number of 3 Collection time capsules, meticulously sustaining them in mint situation and as near authentic as potential. Any modifications are “made very fastidiously, all the time with a deal with authenticity.”

For followers of modified automobiles, there’s additionally a tricked-out E36 with a customized physique equipment developed by its proprietor. However maybe probably the most attention-grabbing 3 Collection of the bunch is an E90 constructed as a WTCC promotional automobile. It resembles a race automobile for the highway, full with a carbon-fiber physique equipment and a stripped-down inside to shed extra weight.

Wanting forward, the G50 is inching nearer. BMW has already confirmed it’s going to debut in 2026, however after the electrical i3 sedan (NA0). There’s nonetheless no phrase on whether or not the following 3 Collection will as soon as once more obtain the Touring therapy. If it does, it’s going to carry the G51 inner codename. Regardless that we haven’t seen any spy photographs of prototypes but, we’re holding out hope for one more wagon.

Whereas the way forward for the G51 is up within the air, one other M3 with a gasoline engine is on the way in which. Codenamed G84, the seventh-generation 3 Collection flagship is scheduled to reach in 2028. It’ll retain all six cylinders however possible with a mild-hybrid setup added to fulfill emissions rules. The following (and presumably last) ICE M3 is believed to stay in manufacturing till the center of the following decade.