THIRD ACT
When the wraps came off the then-new ‘E65’ 7-Series in 2001 and the automotive world gasped in astonishment, BMW explained its decision to go with Chris Bangle’s bold vision for the company like this: the 7-Series sold in such small numbers that the firm could afford to take a risk with it. And it’s that little nugget which illustrates perfectly just how important the 3-Series still was to the Bavarian brand as the new millennium dawned.
Today that’s all changed of course, as BMW has expanded into every possible niche and the rush to electric SUVs has gripped it like every other car maker apart from Morgan. But back then the 3-Series was still the company’s cash cow, something which had begun with the E30 generation launched in 1982.
The E30 wasn’t the first 3-Series of course. In spirit that honour goes to the ’02 range, the car commonly referred to collectively as the 2002 but actually offered with a range of BMW’s famous M10 powerplants ranging from 1.6 to 2
