In 1982 BMW showed the second generation of its small, two-door, compact vehicle, the 3-Series.
The E30 was considered a milestone in the German car-manufacturer.

Its design was simple. The straight lines, four rounded headlights and a slightly raked stance were part of its charm. It wasn’t a car that shout about attention, but it was a car that gathered interest from everybody. It offered engines for every budget and every needs.

Even if the coupe was offered with two doors instead of four, it featured the same wheelbase and the same overall length or height. The grille was flatter when compared with its predecessor, the E21. In 1987, a mid-life cycle refresh was added and the chromed exterior details were changed to black. The headlights and taillights had received a new design.

For the engine bay, the German engineers installed powerplants started with a 1.8-liter unit and up to a 2.7-liter version. The latter was built for economy and it wasn’t the most powerful version. Apart from the M3 top-performer, the fastest version was the 320 iS that had a 2.0-liter engine with 192 hp. It was very close to the magical figure of 100 hp/liter value.

The car introduced few technical novelties for the 3-Series such as the turbocharged diesel engines and the all-wheel-drive system, which was available only on the 2.5-liter unit.