The benchmark. That’s how Oliver Heilmer, BMW’s head of small-car design, describes the 3-series. Most of the world would agree. Every new 3-series matters. But this one matters more than most – more than any other, arguably. It is critically important to the continued success of the company, and to the happiness of car enthusiasts the world over. The car you see here, the new i3, is far more than just another evolutionary step in the 3-series’ long history. It’s a hard reset, and has to succeed.
The 3-series is a car that, like the VW Golf, has defined its class for more than 50 years, and it’s a car that’s consistently justified BMW’s ‘ultimate driving machine’ tagline. Every time a new generation arrives, BMW pulls out all the stops…