BMW's board of management pulled the sheet off its new 2-door sedans, the replacements for the widly successfull 2002, at a ceremony inthe Munich Olympic in July, 1975. The old "2002" badge was dropped in favor of a new moniker that would become synonymous with compact sedan performance: the 3 series. The new badge not only reflected a maturing of the model but a growth in both its size and weight. The 3 series also marked the introduction of a new cockpit design that would take hold at BMW for the next two decades, characterized by an enveloping dash and center console canted toward the driver.
To a range of four-cylinder engines, BMW soon added two six-cylinder engines. A the 1977 Frankfurt Motor Show BMW unveiled the 320/6 and the 323i, the latter displacing 2.3-liters and featuring Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection and 143 Horsepower. The top of the range 323i had a top speed of 118 mph and disk brakes in all four wheels for improved stopping. By 1980, the 323i accounted for nearly 18 percent of 3 series production. Over 200,000 units of 3 series have been manufactured in total of which 137,107 units were 323i.
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