• The 2027 BMW 3-series enters its eighth generation and dons the brand’s Neue Klasse design language.
• Along with the 330’s 255-hp turbo four, the new AWD-only M50 model packs a 437-hp turbocharged 3.0-liter straight-six and a rear-drive Drift mode.
• BMW hasn’t yet said how much the new 3-series will cost, but we expect the lineup will start just over $50K when it goes on sale in the first half of next year.

The BMW 3-series has leaped through seven generations over half a century, but this one feels different. BMW is marking that evolutionary break by giving the eighth-generation car the Neue Klasse name, after the model series that not only established BMW as a benchmark brand for enthusiast-­first sports sedans in the early 1960s but also saved the company from financial ruin. Talk about some big shoes to fill.

The venerable 3-series hasn’t had a redesign this radical since BMW launched the E90 generation for 2006 under Chris Bangle’s watch, drawing online rage early on. This time around, the new G50’s ­design direction comes from Adrian van ­Hooydonk. Asked about influences and inspiration for the 2027 3-series, van Hooydonk makes clear that his team’s principal objective was to walk the tightrope between the future and the past without getting bogged down by the weight of tradition and heritage. “As much as we love our history, respect it, and take inspiration from it, we need to make sure that what we do will be relevant in the future,” he says.

With narrow kidney grilles, hash-mark lighting elements, short overhangs, and a simplified side profile, the new 3-series marks a dramatic departure from BMW’s recent design language. It’s a clear step forward while still retaining callback elements from historically significant models. The new 3’s shark-nose front-end aesthetic reminds us of the E24 6-series of the 1970s and ’80s, and its proportions are reminiscent of the stubby but athletic 2002.

The past-meets-future theme continues in the cabin, where Munich’s latest tech melds with trademark BMW design cues. The most significant update is the introduction of the brand’s Panoramic Vision digital display, which projects driver information onto a thin strip that spans the dash at the base of the windshield, pillar to ­pillar. A 17.9-inch touchscreen mounts to the center of the dashboard and cants toward the driver, a 3-series hallmark from a time when physical climate controls, analog clocks, and cigarette lighters occupied this space.

Though its battery-electric sibling, the i3, uses the NCAR platform that BMW developed to take advantage of its sixth-generation battery technology and 800-volt electrical architecture, the gas-powered 3-series rides on the heavily upgraded CLAR II under­pinnings also found in the X3, the M5, and others. BMW says the chassis benefits from many improvements over the previous generation, including a quicker steering ratio and wider front and rear tracks, which could help make the new 3-series a better driver’s car than its predecessor.

Besides the M350 xDrive, which takes the place of the outgoing M340i xDrive, BMW will also offer American buyers more budget-­friendly variants of the new 3-series in the form of the 255-hp turbocharged inline-four–powered 330 and 330 xDrive.

Relative to the departed M340i, the M350 packs an extra dose of visual presence courtesy of its muscled-up bodywork and yellow daytime running lights. The new model has dynamic hardware to match its looks and benefits from a standard features list that includes adaptive dampers and an electronically controlled limited-slip differential.

The turbocharged 3.0-liter is the newest version in BMW’s B58 inline-six family. The powertrain’s stable now houses an extra 51 horses ­compared with the M340i; up to 17 ponies come from the 48-volt hybrid system’s electric motor inside the eight-speed automatic transmission for a combined 437 horsepower. Though the M350 comes exclusively with all-wheel drive, it will allow drivers to engage in rear-drive, tailout antics courtesy of its Drift Moment feature, which decouples the front axle.

BMW says the extra grunt of the powertrain brings noticeable improvements to acceleration, with the automaker claiming a 3.6-­second run to 60 mph—and we believe it. The last M340i xDrive we tested hit that mark in 3.7 seconds. Buyers with an even greater need for speed will have to wait a bit longer for the new M3, which BMW will offer in both internal-combustion and battery-electric guises.

BMW is still mum on pricing, but we wager that the entry-level four-cylinder version will start just over $50,000 and the hi-po six-cylinder M350 xDrive will start in the $60,000–$70,000 range. Production of the new 3-series begins in the first quarter of 2027, with U.S. sales set to start shortly thereafter.

➡️ Skip the lot. Let Car and Driver help you find your next car.