Planet Earth was in the midst of recovering from the devastating oil crisis when the first BMW 3 Series stood up with its four wheels on the ground, outside the Milbertshofen factory on the 2nd of May, 1975. The timing seemed just right, as everyone started looking for smaller cars. BMW was so proud of BMW 316, they even presented the car in the Munich Olympic Stadium. It was anything but simple. The track control arms with independent spring strut suspension at the front and semi-trailing arms at the back were dramatically different, as were the disc and drum brakes. The steering was one of pioneering technology – an elastically mounted, rack-and-pinion unit.
A new 2.0-litre four-cylinder in the 320/4, fitted with a Solex carburettor, had 110 bhp, and met emissions regulations without the need for a catalytic converter. The transmission featured a Getrag four-speed manual, and later on, five-speed boxes were updated as standard, on top of the ZF three-speed automatic option. Later on, the BMW 320 staple gained the “i” suffix, as well as a three-way catalytic converter and a five-speed manual. The recipe worked - sales had tripled in the first year, and had continued to climb despite another hike in oil prices in 1979. When the six-cylinder BMW 320 and BMW 323i models were released, they grabbed the attention of many. The BMW 323i gained its reputation quickly, thanks to its 143 bhp engine and 190 km/h top speed. It was technologically ahead of its time and even had a limited slip differential option
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