Love it or loathe it, the Neue Klasse styling will be applied across the entire lineup. The BMW Group’s design boss, Adrian van Hooydonk, has already told BMWBLOG that it won’t be easy to identify which car has a combustion engine and which is fully electric. Spy shots of the next-generation 3 Series with combustion engines and the electric i3 have strongly indicated that the two will be cut from the same cloth. The only significant change will be at the front, where the EV will have a shorter nose. That’s to be expected since the electric sedan doesn’t need all that space to fit a gas engine.
Our exclusive rendering tries to see into the future of the eighth-generation 3 Series Sedan. Codenamed “G50,” the Mercedes C-Class rival is imagined here in the spicy M Performance guise. No, not the M340i. Instead, the not-quite-M3 will reportedly transition to the M350 moniker. As with recent gas-fueled cars from Bavaria, it’ll eschew the “i” at the end of its name.
While we’re still not sold on the taillight design first seen on the Vision Neue Klasse concept, everything else looks promising. Like other M Lite models, the first-ever M350 will receive a quad exhaust system. This isn’t just an assumption, as the spy shots attached below depict a prototype with four tips. Our rendering is not a shot in the dark as it takes after the camouflaged prototype.
We’re hoping the next-gen 3 Series Sedan won’t grow any further since the current “G20” is already a big car. Flush door handles will make the profile smoother, while the front will merge a broad kidney grille with modern-looking headlights. At the rear, a subtle spoiler lip on the trunk will further denote it’s not a run-of-the-mill 3er.
Car paparazzi haven’t been able to peek inside, but the “G50” will likely share the cabin with the electric 3 Series “NA0.” Sooner or later, all BMWs will have the iDrive X with a large central touchscreen and the Panoramic Vision. The latter consists of a projection at the base of the windshield, extending from one pillar to the other. The digital instrument cluster will become a thing of the past, but a next-gen optional 3D head-up display is planned.
Expect even fewer physical buttons in tomorrow’s BMWs, which also won’t have the traditional iDrive rotary knob. The Bavarian brand will retire the dial with the next generation of its infotainment system. It’s all in the name of minimalism, although some would be tempted to say this oversimplification has more likely to do with cost-cutting. Of course, no automaker will ever admit this.
When the next 3 Series arrives, the M350 will likely be offered from day one. Expect a Euro 7-compliant “B58” engine under the hood. BMW has announced a full-fat M3 (“G84”) with an inline-six for greater power is in the works. The regular “G50” could go into production in November 2026, with the hotter “G84” set to hit the assembly line in July 2028. As previously reported, 3er production is likely moving from Munich to Dingolfing.
