Die erste Serie 3

Welcome to Genesis. What you see here is the humble beginnings of BMW's best selling model, the 3 series. The E21's success made BMW a household name catapulting each new generation of 3 series BMWs into more driveways than any other car manufacture. 

This particular car was purchased as a half finished project. The new owner, has managed to painstakingly finished the car to a very high standard. This is no surprise when his previous engagements to automobiles have been of very high caliber too! 

The frontal view of the E21 was dominated by BMW's trademark kidney grille standing out clearly from the radiator cover.

Funnily enough one of the worlds best selling 4 door sedan's started life as a 2 door.The wedge shape was distinctive, extending all the way to the unusually high rear end. 

A black plastic trim panel between the tail lights was added in response to criticism of the tail design.

Like many other BMW models, the C-pillar of the E21 features a Hofmeister kink.

If you get into any modern BMW, you will notice that most of the dash and controls are angled towards the driver. It all started here! 

This feature has become part of BMW’s interior design philosophy for many years. To improve passive safety all edges and control elements within the interior were rounded off and padded.

It is always nice to see such iconic cars in the metal on our roads. Looking at this car, we can see how much the 3 series has evolved into its current iteration. But a part of me misses this simple and functional design over the current fussy design language. 

For more pics of this car click here 

Charith Kulasiri