Photo: BMW
BMW had plenty of reasons to celebrate this week, as its best-selling model just crossed yet another threshold. The 10 Millionth 3 Series sedan has just rolled off the assembly line and officials were there to send it off.
The car was built at the Munich plant of the German company and it was a 320d in Imperial Blue, a rather befitting color for the occasion if you ask us. As the production of the new 3 Series kicked off in July, this is an LCI model as you probably guessed. The Director of the Munich plant was on the scene and talked about this milestone, with kind words, as usual:
“The success story of the BMW 3 Series started here in Plant Munich and is now reaching a very special highpoint here as well. The fact that this landmark vehicle was produced at our plant is a particular honour for us and makes me very proud indeed of my team.”
Over the 40 years of the 3 Series’ legacy, BMW built over 14 million cars with the number 3 on the boot and over the course of these decades, a couple of exciting moments passed, so let’s take a look.
Of course, those are just some of the highlights underscored by the BMW 3 Series models over time, but they should be enough to speak of why it has become the most successful model the Germans ever built.
“The success story of the BMW 3 Series started here in Plant Munich and is now reaching a very special highpoint here as well. The fact that this landmark vehicle was produced at our plant is a particular honour for us and makes me very proud indeed of my team.”
Over the 40 years of the 3 Series’ legacy, BMW built over 14 million cars with the number 3 on the boot and over the course of these decades, a couple of exciting moments passed, so let’s take a look.
- 1975 - the BMW 3 Series range is presented for the first time, with 4-cylinder engines
- 1977 - BMW 323i and BMW 320/6 become the first 3 Series models with inline 6-cylinder engines
- 1982 - the second BMW 3 Series generation is presented (E30)
- 1984 - BMW 325e has the first eta engine with six cylinders, posting impressive fuel consumption figures
- 1985 - world debut of the first diesel 3 Series, the 324d
- 1989 - the BMW 318is introduces the four-valve per cylinder design
- 1990 - the third BMW 3 Series generation is unveiled (E36)
- 1992 - VANOS technology is introduced on the BMW M3 and the 3 Series Coupe models with 6-cylinder engines
- 1994 - BMW 318tds becomes the first 3 Series model with a 4-cylinder diesel engine
- 1995 - six-cylinder petrol engines receive aluminum crankcases
- 1998 - the fourth BMW 3 Series generation is launched (E46)
- 2000 - the 3 Series range gets 3-liter 6-cylinder petrol and diesel engines
- 2001 - VALVETRONIC technology is introduced on the 316ti model
- 2004 - BMW 320Cd Cabriolet becomes the first convertible with a diesel engine in the German company’s history
- 2005 - fifth BMW 3 Series generation unveiled (E90)
- 2010 - the first BMW 320d EfficientDynamics Edition is launched
- 2011 - the sixth BMW 3 Series generation is unveiled (F30)
Of course, those are just some of the highlights underscored by the BMW 3 Series models over time, but they should be enough to speak of why it has become the most successful model the Germans ever built.
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