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BMW Celebrates 40th 3 Series Anniversary with New Commercial

Back in 1975 a new model was making its world debut inside the Munich Olympic Stadium under the BMW roundel’s shadow. It was a replacement for the iconic 2002 Series and a lot of people thought that the German manufacturer was making a mistake.
BMW E21 3 Series 1 photo
Photo: screenshot from Youtube
Codenamed E21, the original 3 Series was done at a time of great stress in Munich. Herbert Quandt had just saved the company with his investment and solutions were needed to keep going. The iconic 3er was there to save the day.

Marketed as a 2-door saloon, the car was available in only one body style initially. The legendary Paul Bracq was behind its design, and he made sure to include many trademark features in its looks, features that lived through no less than six generations.

This year the 3 Series range will be celebrating four decades of excellence, decades adorned with incredible numbers. Over these years, more than 14 million examples were delivered to customers, making the 3er the best selling car in BMW’s history, adding up to 25 percent of its total vehicle sales.

Across the decades, there were other variations introduced on the market as well, from the classic Touring body style to the Convertible, Coupe, Compact and even Gran Tourismo of today.

However, no matter what the codename or the body style, BMW has always taken pride in the way the 3 Series drove, calling it a ‘sports sedan’ from the moment it came out. Of course, things weren’t exactly as they claimed and flaws were noticeable on every model they created but even so, no rival offered by the competition managed to stack up to the incredible reputation and numbers of the 3 Series.

While it may seem like too little to mark such an important event in the history of the brand and the model at the same time, we have a sneaky suspicion that the Germans are preparing a little more for us this year. Stay tuned!

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