Nineteen seventy-five was a good year. Jaws debuted in theaters, Jack Nicklaus won his fifth Masters, and Miller Lite made its way to shelves. What a time to be alive. But most importantly for automotive enthusiasts, 1975 marked the establishment of BMW North America and the debut of the BMW 3 Series, which would go on to become one of the most recognizable industry names of all time.
This year, BMW is celebrating 50 years of its ubiquitous luxury car—from its earliest days as a no-nonsense people mover to its evolution into a high-performance machine. At this year’s Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, BMW rolled out the red carpet for its most-iconic nameplate, with six of the best examples from its heritage collection taking center stage on the green—and a few others hitting the road around Amelia.
Photo by: Jeff Perez / Motor1
Front and center was the car that started it all: A pristine 1975 E21 320i. With an updated version of BMW’s four-cylinder M10 engine—which debuted in 1962—the 3 Series made just 101 horsepower at the time. But in its six years on sale, BMW would move more than one million examples of the E21, cementing itself in the lineup in the decades that followed.
Alongside the E21 was a beautiful E30 M3 race car—specifically one of the cars that helped earn BMW a double victory at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Although it no longer runs or drives (the engines were made specifically to last the length of the race, as BMW notes), its 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine made 360 hp at the time.
Photo by: Jeff Perez / Motor1
Photo by: Jeff Perez / Motor1
“When it comes to E30, the E30 M3 is probably the pinnacle of that,” notes Tom Plucinsky, Head of BMW Group Classic USA. “It’s most loved by the fans, and it was a homologation special to go racing. This is the most successful touring race car ever, so we had to bring the E30 M3.”
The arrival of the E36 in 1990 marked the debut of the third-generation 3 Series. This particular car—a limited edition M3 Lightweight—had aluminum doors, an adjustable splitter, smaller mirrors, and a massive rear wing. Fun fact: Since BMW never actually had the wing approved for road use, the company delivered each car with the wing in the trunk. Buyers would then head to the dealership and get it installed after the fact.
“In Europe, there was an M3 GT, which had aluminum doors, an extendable front splitter, a rear wing, and a larger motor,” says Plucinsky. “For the US, we couldn’t get the larger motor, so the idea was to do a lightweight version. People talked about racing these, so this was a race-prepped car, ready to go—no A/C, no radio.”
Photo by: Jeff Perez / Motor1
The fourth-generation E46 debuted in 1997. With new aluminum suspension components, the E46 was notably stiffer than the car it replaced. And that also meant a perfect 50/50 weight distribution to go alongside the new, more-powerful 3.2-liter inline-six making up to 360 hp in the production M3 CSL.
The particular M3 on display was a race-prepped GTR with a new 4.0-liter V-8 making up to 460 hp. It would compete in the American Le Mans series in the US, where it would win seven out of 10 races and take home both Manufacturers’ and Team championships for BMW. Per regulations, the race car spawned a production M3 GTR with a detuned version of the same V-8 engine, but BMW only made 10 of them—and they cost about $260,000 each.
Photo by: Jeff Perez / Motor1
Photo by: Jeff Perez / Motor1
Photo by: Jeff Perez / Motor1
Tom Plucinsky, Head of BMW Group Classic USA
It wasn’t until the fifth-generation E90 came along did the base M3 adopt a standard V-8 engine. The 4.0-liter formerly of the E46 GTR race car would make its way underhood of the factory E90 M3, giving it a healthy 414 hp with the choice of either a manual transmission or a dual-clutch. The E90 was also the first 3 Series with iDrive—a now-ubiquitous technology found in every modern BMW.
The E90 wasn’t just a successful road car for BMW, it also had plenty of success on the track. The car on display swept the 2011 ALMS Championship and won the 12 Hours of Sebring in both 2011 and 2012.
Photo by: Jeff Perez / Motor1
Photo by: Jeff Perez / Motor1
Photo by: Jeff Perez / Motor1
Photo by: Jeff Perez / Motor1
Of course, the 3 Series lineage isn’t all about performance. The F30 generation further modernized the luxury car with new, more-efficient engine options like turbocharged four- and six-cylinder units. The F80 M3 even shrunk from eight to six cylinders while still adding more power; it produced 425 hp and 406 lb-ft, and could hit 60 miles per hour in just 3.9 seconds with the DCT.
BMW brought its finest example of the F30 to Amelia: A brown wagon.
“At that point in time, the sport wagons were not doing so well from a sales standpoint for us,” Plucinsky notes. “But internally, we all loved them. So we bought this one and kept it in the collection. We’ve had it since 2019, and we decided to bring it out here since we’re back in the touring business with the M5 Touring now on sale in the US. It’s not our first touring, and hopefully it’s not our last.”
Photo by: Jeff Perez / Motor1
With five decades worth of BMWs on display, it’s easy to see how the 3 Series became such an icon. From the brand’s early sales success with the E21, on-track accolades with the E30 and E36, and modernizations like the F30, the 3 Series has always met the needs of enthusiasts.
Here’s to another 50.
