AI News Feed
Market watch
BMW Unveils Eighth-Generation 3 Series, Retaining Rear-Drive Layout and Inline-SixSuper Mario Galaxy Becomes First Wii Game Fully Decompiled, Unofficial PC Port in the WorksOceans absorbed record 23 zettajoules of heat last year, report findsMenopause supplements costing more than £400 a year no better than £22 multivitamin, Which? findsRobot-Free Data, Physics-Aware Video Models and Agent Sandboxes AdvanceRobot IPOs Face Closer Scrutiny as 36 Listed Firms Reveal Sharp Commercialization Divide
BMW Unveils Eighth-Generation 3 Series, Retaining Rear-Drive Layout and Inline-SixSuper Mario Galaxy Becomes First Wii Game Fully Decompiled, Unofficial PC Port in the WorksOceans absorbed record 23 zettajoules of heat last year, report findsMenopause supplements costing more than £400 a year no better than £22 multivitamin, Which? findsRobot-Free Data, Physics-Aware Video Models and Agent Sandboxes AdvanceRobot IPOs Face Closer Scrutiny as 36 Listed Firms Reveal Sharp Commercialization Divide
Products & Applications

BMW Unveils Eighth-Generation 3 Series, Retaining Rear-Drive Layout and Inline-Six

BMW has unveiled the eighth-generation 3 Series, codenamed G50, with a new design language and cabin while keeping a longitudinal engine, rear-drive basis and an inline-six in the M350.

AI News Feed · 2026-09-30 16:40

The i3 moves to BMW's Neue Klasse electric platform, while the new 3 Series continues on an upgraded CLAR architecture. BMW did not put the two powertrain types into one chassis, Ifanr reported. Michael Keigler, the 3 Series project leader, explained that the 3 Series does not have the body space of the 5 Series or 7 Series. If one body had to accommodate both a large battery and a longitudinal engine, transmission and driveshaft, it would require more compromises in cabin space, proportions and chassis layout. The dual-platform approach costs more to develop, but allows each model to be optimized around its own powertrain.

The exterior changes are substantial. The headlights and kidney grille are now connected, the complex front bumper lines of the previous two generations have been removed, and the side is cleaner. Hidden door handles appear on the 3 Series for the first time. Ifanr cited Car and Driver as saying this is the biggest exterior change for the 3 Series in recent generations. Autoblog noted a longer front end and lower body, and said the new design language looks more coherent on the combustion-engine model than on the i3.

The U.S.-spec car measures 4,755 mm long, about 38 mm longer than the G20, with a 2,860 mm wheelbase, up about 10 mm, and a width of 1,849 mm. Weight has risen more noticeably. The 330 xDrive has a curb weight of about 1,773 kg, an increase of roughly 91 kg. The M350 xDrive, with the inline-six, reaches about 1,891 kg.

Inside, the new 3 Series adopts the new-generation i3 layout. The former standalone instrument cluster is gone. Key information such as speed is placed in a P-HUD at the lower edge of the windshield, while a 17.9-inch irregular central screen sits in the middle of the dashboard. The driver's instrument area is greatly simplified. Physical controls are limited to gear selection, hazard lights and volume.

Powertrain changes are more restrained in overseas markets. The 320 and 330 continue with four-cylinder engines, and a 330e plug-in hybrid will join within the next year. The most notable addition is the M350, which uses the B58 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six with a 48-volt system, producing about 326 kW, or 437 hp, and accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in about 4.1 seconds.

The chassis has also been revised, not only for the M350. Even the base four-cylinder version comes with dampers featuring hydraulic rebound stops. BMW also increased the strength of suspension mounting points and adjusted the anti-roll bar attachment, springs and bushings. The front and rear suspension geometry was retuned for more direct steering response and more decisive body movement. Top Gear said the car feels less sticky than before and that its steering is more natural, with the driver able to feel the front wheels lighten over a crest.

The M350 comes with xDrive as standard, but power distribution remains strongly rear-biased. In M Sport+ mode, the system will allow more obvious rear-wheel slip as long as it judges the car to be within the driver's control. When the car goes on sale next year, BMW will also release a drift mode through a software update, sending all engine power to the rear wheels. That is not simply a button on the screen: to make an all-wheel-drive car work in a pure rear-drive state, BMW has to recalibrate the braking system, rear differential, stability control and steering, changing the control logic of the whole car.

In the new 3 Series, powertrain, braking, steering and body control systems that previously worked relatively independently are now coordinated in a unified Driving Stack. The electric i3 uses a control architecture centered on Heart of Joy, and the new 3 Series now has its own equivalent. The effect is difficult to show in specifications, but Ifanr described it as key to improving body response, which matters more because the new 3 Series is larger and heavier than its predecessor. The light, agile feel that once came naturally from a compact body and lower weight now has to be recovered through faster steering response and more precise body control.

Top Gear and Car and Driver, after driving the car, devoted considerable space to steering, front-wheel feedback and body response. By contrast, the 437 hp and 4.1-second 0-100 km/h time did not become the focus. Ifanr noted that the cars tested by foreign media were standard-wheelbase models. If the Chinese-market 3 Series continues to be lengthened, BMW will need to address the negative effects of that change, which may be more important than how much rear legroom is added.