-It may be hard for some to believe, but the BMW 3-series has been around for 40 years now. The first generation, internally known as the E21, first hit the streets in May of 1975.
Since then, BMW's small sport sedan has become a legend. It's widely regarded as the industry benchmark, the target that every competitor aims to unseat. Amazingly, that's almost always been the case for six generations now.
-To celebrate this 40th anniversary, BMW put together this short video, going around the world to talk to 3-series enthusiasts of all types.
-To be fair, it's a little cheesy—like any automaker-produced fan video, it's essentially a seven-minute commercial, with all the schmaltz and overly sincere fandom you'd expect from a car company talking effusively about itself.
-It's easy enough to look past that, though, and enjoy the best part of this video: watching how the 3-series evolved. From its beginnings as a small, upright successor to the legendary 2002, to today's rounder, bigger, and immensely more powerful sixth-generation, a lot has changed. Parked side-by-side, an unknowing observer would probably think a 1975 320i and today's M3 were entirely different species.
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In many ways, they are. But for many fans, the most important parts shine through: the front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout; the well-sorted chassis; the emphasis on driver engagement in a segment that too often tries to emulate big, stodgy luxury at a middle-management price.
-Whether you love the 3-series, or you're rooting for its competition to knock it off the pedestal, one thing's for certain: It's the car that helped define the modern sports sedan.
--This story originally appeared on roadandtrack.com.
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