WMC 039 BMW M3 GTR (E46) 2004

The BMW 3 is a series of German middle-class passenger cars, the first copy of which was presented to the public in 1975. Its serial production started in the same year and is still going on. The car was and is driven - depending on the version - by a wide range of gasoline and diesel engines. Production was concentrated and, to a large extent, is still concentrated at the BMW AG plant in Munich.

The BMW 3 model was developed and put into production as a successor to the 1500 and 1600 models in the company's offer. Six generations of the BMW 3 series were produced in the course of serial production. The first of them (marked as E21) was produced in the years 1975-1983 and was initially available only as a 2-door sedan. In the years 1982-1994, the second generation (designation E30) entered production, with cosmetic styling changes, but offered a much larger number of available body versions - for example, a 4-door sedan or a convertible body. The BMW M3 was also created on the basis of this version. In the period 1991-2000, the third generation of the BMW 3 Series (designation E36) was produced, which had a deeply changed styling and design, and was offered in such body versions as the sedan, coupe and convertible. It was also very successful on the market. In the years 1998-2006, the fourth generation of the BMW 3 with the E46 designation was produced. It had enriched basic and additional equipment and a slightly changed style. The fifth generation was produced in the years 2004-2013 (designation E90) - the suspension, traction and range of engines were improved. Finally, the last generation of the BMW 3 to date is the VI generation, which went into production in 2011 and is still being produced.