BMW is getting ready to pull the wraps off the eighth-generation 3 Series, and we already have a pretty good idea of what to expect. The new G50 will bring a major design overhaul, a thoroughly revamped interior, and a new top-tier M Performance model. That car will be called the M350 xDrive, replacing the familiar M340i xDrive.

Before the real thing debuts, we’re taking a look at a rendering by our friend Avarvarii showing how the M350 xDrive could look once the camouflage comes off. While the illustration isn’t an official BMW image, it is based on the latest spy shots and the design cues we’ve seen on the production-ready prototypes. And there’s one obvious source of inspiration: the new i3.

Although the combustion-engined 3 Series and electric i3 ride on completely different platforms, BMW is deliberately making them look like members of the same family. The ICE-powered model uses an evolution of the long-running CLAR architecture, while the i3 sits on the dedicated Neue Klasse platform. BMW design boss Adrian van Hooydonk has previously said customers should have a hard time telling the two cars apart.

Well, unless they see both up close and notice the slightly different body proportions. The electric sedan has a shorter front overhang and different proportions, whereas the G50 needs a longer hood to accommodate its combustion engines, including the upgraded B58 in the M350 xDrive. Still, the two cars share plenty of visual DNA.

The Not-Quite-M Shapes Up

The M350 should get the more aggressive treatment, naturally. Spy shots have already shown the M Performance sedan with a wide lower intake, muscular bumpers, large wheels, red-painted brakes, and the four exhaust tips the outgoing M340i never got. The M340d missed out on the quad setup, and we’ve already learned that a six-cylinder diesel isn’t in the pipeline for the new 3er.

While the M350 isn’t the next M3, it won’t exactly be a consolation prize. In fact, it will arrive well before the G84 lands in 2028, giving BMW a pretty potent performance sedan for the first couple of years of the G50’s life.

A Taste Of What’s To Come

Even if they’re unofficial, these renderings make it clear the new 3 Series is shaping up to be a very different car from the G20 it replaces. The same will hold true for the more practical wagon, with the G51 potentially arriving next year or in 2028. And just like the sedan, the Touring is likely to get the M Performance and M treatment. Insiders have told us the latter is codenamed G88, and it may even come to the U.S. one day. Fingers crossed.

In the meantime, we won’t have to wait much longer to see whether this rendering is close to reality. BMW will reveal the G50 3 Series at the end of this month, with production scheduled to begin shortly thereafter at the Dingolfing plant in Germany.

Renderings: Avarvarii / Instagram

First published by https://www.bmwblog.com