Vehicle Story
It may be true that the eighties E30 is regarded by many as ‘the’ classic BMW 3 Series, but it was its predecessor the E21 that laid down the blueprint of what was to come.
In their book Fifty Cars That Changed the World - the Design Museum included the E21 alongside such icons as the Ford Model T, Bugatti Type 35, Jaguar E-type and BMC Mini. The designer responsible was Frenchman Paul Bracq, who had previously penned such icons as the Mercedes-Benz W113 ‘Pagoda’ SL and the TGV high-speed train.
In July 1975, the BMW E21 3 Series was launched at the Munich Olympic Stadium, which had hosted the summer games three years earlier. A shark-nosed evolution of its predecessor (the 2002) with clean, simple lines - the E21 was only built by BMW in two-door saloon form - also often referred to as a coupé.
At first, a range of 4-cylinder petrol engines were offered - 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0-litres - with fuel injection being available to the 2.0-litre by the end of the year. Whilst the smaller 316 had a 4-speed Getrag manual gearbox, the 318 and 320 could be specified with a 3-speed ZF automatic transmission. Visually, there was little difference between the variants, although the 320 (and later 323i) sported quad headlamps.
In 1977, a six-cylinder carbureted 2.0-litre engine replaced the fuel-injected 4-pot on the 320. This engine was fed through a Solex 4-barrel carb, produced 120 bhp and could accelerate the car to 62 mph in 10 seconds.
Whilst it retained the fully independent suspension of the 2002, a slightly longer wheelbase gave the E21 a smoother ride without losing the earlier car’s famously sporty handling.
By the end of production in December 1983, around 1.36 million E21 cars had been built.
