For many of us it’s hard to believe that the BMW E36 3 Series is 25 years old. In this video, BMW takes us back to the time when the decision was made to field a new 3 Series that was more revolutionary than evolutionary in its styling and aerodynamic design.
The leap from the “three-box design” as BMW described the E30 3 Series to the more efficient and still aesthetically pleasing shape of the E36 was significant, and set the tone for the BMW design philosophy the company now calls EfficientDynamics.
While the E36 first went on sale 25 years ago, it’s only been missing from dealer showrooms for 15 years, as it had a ten-year life cycle when you include the convertible version.
We could describe the video as part nostalgia and part history but for many of us, a discussion of the E36 is current events. The reality is that while many E36 owners moved on to other BMW model series over the years, many Club members still drive an E36 3 Series every day. BMW built a bunch of them and they are still great transportation and enormously fun to drive.—Scott Blazey
[Photos and video courtesy of BMW AG.]
