Lots of variants – BMW 3 Series E30: The cult Bavarian celebrates its 40s

Sometimes a three is enough to be number one: With the 3 Series (E30) for the 1980s, BMW created what was then the best-selling mid-range dynamic car. The agile Bavarian became a cult athlete as a furious M3, a lifestyle trendsetter as a versatile touring car and a sun king as a non-iron convertible.

“Again no styling revolution”, the specialist media complained in 1982 about the Munich company’s lack of courage for a visually radically new BMW 3 Series. The 5 Series (E28) launched last year was confusingly similar to its predecessor, and now the 3 Series too, the dynamic heart of the blue and white brand. Star designer Claus Luthe only dressed the second generation 3 in somewhat softer, more compact contours, with a flat front, from which, in contrast to the E21 series that had been replaced, distinctive twin headlights always shone Twelve years of construction showed that six body variants and ten engine versions were unrivaled in the premium segment of that era. “If you really want to get the future under control, you have to use progressive means,” postulated BMW marketing as early as 1982 in the direction of Stuttgart, Ingolstadt and Milan – and the customers were initially surprised. It still took several years until the courageous 3 Series in the form of the M3, convertible, touring and agile diesel.Million sellers from Munich But then the 3 Series finally became the favorite of left-hand drivers and lifestyle-conscious people – a total of 2.34 million units were sold in Munich and Regensburg the tapes, supplemented by fast right-hand drive for South Africa. Most E30s have long been rocked or tuned to death, but that is exactly what only increased the hype in the classic scene about the surviving 3 Series and original M3. Maybe it’s the twin headlights that have been so iconic since the BMW 2002, or the wedge shape of the E30, which is only very subtly hinted at in a decade of constantly new aerodynamic wonders from the Audi 100 to the Ford Sierra and the Opel Omega. Or maybe BMW just did a better job of catching the pulse of the 1980s, with 3 Series models that anticipated every trend while sticking to the tried and true, like the coupe-style two-door body, as opposed to new rivals like the Mercedes 190, Alfa 75 and Audi 80/90 In any case, the BMW 3 Series (E30) ended its career in 1994 as the most-built model in its class. No wonder that not only the Bimmer community celebrates him today as the “King of Cool” of the wild eighties. The decade that on the one hand addressed disarmament, environmental protection and nouveau riche yuppies, but on the other hand celebrated the carefree lifestyle of a new leisure society in pop anthems such as “I want fun” or “Rock me Amadeus”. Chic convertibles were part of it, just as they increased the ratings in TV blogbusters from “Miami Vice” to “Magnum” to the “Black Forest Clinic”. version, this as a top cabriolet from the Stuttgart bodywork company Baur. The door frames and windows of this Luftikus, which is integrated into the regular BMW range, remained in place even when the roof was open, but the fresh-air five-seater, which can be combined with almost all engines, retained the iconic contours of the two-door 3-series body when closed. This cold cut cost around 7,000 marks extra in the home country, and it was enjoyed by almost 11,000 sun worshipers. For most, however, the fresh air experience in the E30 only became perfect with the non-iron 325i full convertible introduced in 1985. This expensive Sun King and rival to the even more expensive Saab 900 Cabriolet set the initial spark for an unprecedented open-air boom that hit yuppies and celebrities as well as families. The BMW 3 Series Cabriolets (including the models 320i and 318i that followed) were just as fashionable on the Corniche, Kurfürstendamm and Fifth Avenue as they were in front of the small-town ice cream parlour so long that speculators offered purchase contracts ready for allocation in classified ads in the specialist media at high surcharges. But the real sensation was yet to come: In autumn 1985, BMW Motorsport GmbH presented the legendary first M3 as the fiercest opponent of the Mercedes 190 E 2.3-16.Successful sportsman: the M3Originally only designed for 5000 units for the purpose of homologation, this first BMW was a hit M3 unexpected popularity. Perhaps because it caused a stir even when it was stationary with its huge spoilers and fender flares, and the 2.3-litre four-cylinder with four-valve technology reached exactly the 200 hp mark – without being charged by a turbocharger or compressor. Thanks to the slim 1200 kilogram curb weight, the M3 reached 100 km/h in just 6.7 seconds, which the V12 Ferrari 400i couldn’t do any better. However, the true home of the BMW M3 was motorsport, where it clinched one victory after the other in 24-hour races, in the DTM and in European championships. Continued performance upgrades also kept the road versions of the M3 attractive, eventually selling nearly 18,000 cars. Among them, as a special highlight, was the world’s fastest four-seater cabriolet at the time.Sporty, open at the top BMW already surprised people at the IAA 1987 with the study of this M3 cabriolet. to test balaclavas and toupees for tightness at 240 km/h. And another unique fresh-air star was based on the technology of the 3 Series: the BMW Z1 Roadster inspired from 1987 with agile rear-wheel drive and sophisticated retractable doors for an ultimate feeling of freedom Sport and efficiency even better served than others. While the Mercedes 190 D had made the four-cylinder diesel more dynamic, the Bavarian Motor Works showed how fast six-cylinder savers could be. First with a 2.7-liter six-cylinder petrol engine for relatively high torque at low revs. The 325e only needed 5.9 liters, but was not able to achieve long-term success in the sales ranking. A battery-electric 3 Series was reserved for the Bundespost and authorities alone, for which the time was not yet ripe. Things went better with the 324d, whose six-cylinder diesel scored with temperament and only 5.0 liters consumption. But it was the 85 kW/115 hp turbo version 324td that was as fast as a petrol engine and caused a sensation from 1987 onwards. And then there was another traction specialist: in 1985, the 325ix, the first production BMW with all-wheel drive, rolled off the production line.Touring as a private ideaEven until 1994 and thus three years after the end of the sedan, the last E30 body shape remained up to date, with the BMW 1987 at the same time as the only real facelift for the series: the proper 3 Series Touring was based on the private design of a BMW engineer, who thus started the movement of sporty lifestyle trucks. “BMW is making a new class mobile”, this advertising slogan from 1982 suddenly became true five years later with the Touring. (SPX)
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