In 1975, BMW unveiled the first 3 Series, with the E21 breaking cover at that year’s Frankfurt motor show as the replacement to the now legendary 2002.
Since then, the 3 Series has spawned seven generations (E30, E36, E46, E90-93, F30-34, and now G20), all of which have been sold in Australia, and have led the model to become BMW’s best-seller locally with more than 190,000 deliveries.
Now in its 50th year, BMW has launched the new 3 Series 50 Jahre Edition to mark the sedan’s half-century birthday, and it’s exclusive to Australia and New Zealand.
Based on the M340i xDrive – the flagship of the 3 Series, bar the high performance M3 – the 50 Jahre Edition will be limited to just 50 examples in Australia, each priced from $127,600 before on-road costs, or about $9500 more than the vehicle it’s based on.
Unique features to the 50th anniversary edition include Anthracite Metallic paint, jet black 19-inch M light alloy wheels, BMW’s M Sport Package Pro – adding M Sport brakes in high-gloss red, M Lights Shadow Line, and an M rear spoiler finished in Black Sapphire paint.
That’s on top of the M340i xDrive’s equipment which includes adaptive M suspension and an M sport rear differential.
Inside there’s M seat belts, carbon-fibre trim and a special commemorative plaque, celebrating 50 years of the 3 Series with BMW M’s three colours.
Other features such as a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and 14.9-inch touchscreen infotainment system running BMW’s Operating System 8.5 carry over.
There’s to change to the M340i xDrive’s standard powertrain, consisting of a turbocharged 3.0-litre straight-six engine, producing 285kW and 500Nm.
Drive is sent to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission. BMW claims a 0-100km/h sprint time of 4.4 seconds.
While the 3 Series is no longer BMW’s best-seller locally – with the X1, X2, X3 and X5 SUVs, as well as the smaller 1 Series being more popular – it still outsells its long-time Mercedes-Benz C-Class rival.
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