BMW 3-Series (E30): Desired for Five Decades

For 40 years, the BMW 3-Series (E30) has been seen as a symbol of automotive desire, despite it appearing as an unassuming three-box saloon. BMW brought the E30 to the market in 1982 at a time when image became everything to some motorists. On both sides of the Atlantic, the E30 hit the mark with the rapidly emerging young and upwardly professional set, wearing the right badge and oozing Germanic street credibility.  

At no point since then, has the E30 lost its appeal. It’s also the last BMW to feature a hint of ‘sharknose’ front end styling, which had appeared on BMWs since the 1970s. Afterwards, the Bavarian manufacturer embraced larger designs with sleeker styling, including its successor, the 3-series E36.  

It wasn’t just the badge and styling that buyers liked though, there was an E30 for almost everyone, as it was offered in two- and four-door saloons, a cabriolet and even estate body styles. A wide variety of engine options could be selected, and unlike BMWs of today, the badge on the boot lid clearly represented the model and engine size – which to some in eighties British car culture, was a symbol of how successful they were professionally.   

Therefore, many motorists understood that the entry-level 316 was a 3-series with a 90bhp 1.6-litre carburetted four-cylinder M10 engine. It was later Bosch Motronic fuel-injected and defined by the addition of a letter ‘i’ in its badge. This was replaced by the 318i, a four-cylinder 1.8-litre M40 engine, which became the volume selling unit in the range, until the E30 was phased out in 1994. 

BMW was also adored by performance enthusiasts for its fuel-injected straight-six engines, which first appeared as the 320i and 323i, in 90bhp, 122bhp and 139bhp (and later, 150bhp) outputs. In 1985, the 323i was replaced by the sportier-looking and more powerful 170bhp 325i. While unremarkable sounding today, BMW’s power outputs for its time were impressive, and the 325i remains the model that keen E30 enthusiasts seek out.  

As years went by, the professional set changed to newer cars, and the E30 was both numerous in availability and affordability for a wide variety of different buyers. This meant that more could enjoy the brilliantly driver-focused driving position, the high build quality, the rewarding driving experience and the image gained from owning one. 

Unfortunately, as is the case with a number of great cars from yesteryear, the performance attraction of the E30 and its depreciating value over time meant that a great number of examples fell victim to abuse, modification, amateur motorsport and eventual scrapping. Today, as a confirmed classic, the high demand and lower supply of good condition E30s, has seen values increase, but lower-powered E30s can still be purchased for under £10,000.  

The legendary E30 M3 used a race-bred 200-215bhp, 2.3-litre four-cylinder engine, had track-perfected driving dynamics and a menacing looking body. With a low 1,200kg kerbweight, the M3 achieved 0-62mph in a claimed 6.7 seconds. As a result of its iconic status, sold M3 prices in recent years have rocketed, ranging from £40,000 to over £200,000.  

Ready to learn more about the E30? Click here to read about the forgotten 333i homologation saloon car.