The next-generation BMW 3 Series is set to make its debut any day now. While its unveiling awaits, looking back at the venerable luxury sport sedan’s heritage provides context for what can be expected for the 2019 model year.
Over six generations the 3 Series has gone through evolution and revolutions in terms of style and has grown significantly in size. Will the next 3-Series take on a retro flair and embody the minimalism of the E21, or go a more radical route with flame surfacing like the E90? Let’s examine every generation of the 3 Series to get a better idea of what could lie ahead.
The first-generation BMW 3 Series (code name E21) made its debut in the United States for the 1977 model year. Its simplistic form, prominent double kidney grille, and circular headlamps set against black fixtures gave the vehicle a purposeful and sporty look.
This design was ahead of its time. Over the next three decades, the minimalist style would prove highly influential as sedan designs became progressively more understated in the 3 Series idiom, with excessive chrome and opera lights falling by the wayside as a sportier and less ornamental design philosophy took hold across the industry.
Taillamps increased in size and the trunklid was higher in this generation. Interior dimensions also increased, which drew the compact 3 Series further into the mainstream and contributed to its surging popularity.
Out back, the taillamps took on a more nuanced form, giving the 3 Series a more aggressive stance. Aprons below the door sills lent a grounded and sporty look to the overall design.
Sharp curves of the previous generation were gently rounded all over the vehicle, lending this generation a very sophisticated aesthetic. However, a significantly higher trunk line and upsized taillamps took away slightly from the hunkered-down look of the prior 3 Series.
This generation would see its coupe and cabriolet come equipped with body-colored rub strips, while the sedan carried on with the traditional black rubber strips.
Sharp and deep bodyside creases known as “flame surfacing” added definition to the 3 Series, but also removed the subtlety of prior generations. Rub strips were removed altogether, lending the design a clean look, but also increasing visual mass along the sides. On the sedan version, the double kidney grille was bisected along the top, whereby the upper portion was placed on the hood while the remainder was attached to the front fascia. The coupe retained a more traditional, and better-looking, grille treatment.
A mid-generation refresh would see the coupe’s more elegant grille grafted onto the sedan, along with other updates that reeled in some of the quirky design elements to good effect.
Aggressively shaped headlamps hark back to the fourth-generation model. The horizontal taillamp design that made its debut on the fifth-generation coupe was carried across the range for this generation and provided a more grounded appearance for the sedan. The sides of the vehicle incorporated more subtle and organic forms compared to the prior generation.
[Images: BMW, Wikipedia]