New BMW 3 Series Puts Its Chassis Through A Miramas Grilling

The new BMW 3 Series has reached the closing stage of its development, and it is not going quietly. Camouflaged prototypes of the petrol saloon are hammering around BMW’s Miramas proving ground in southern France. This is the final round of summer handling work. The combustion 3 Series will sit alongside the electric i3, sharing the same Neue Klasse look while keeping four- and six-cylinder engines.

Every engine now carries 48-volt mild-hybrid tech for keener efficiency. BMW calls its approach drive-system-open, meaning buyers pick petrol or electric without losing the core 3 Series recipe. The styling brings a fresh take on the brand’s four-eyed face, a long wheelbase and short overhangs. Inside sits the Panoramic iDrive display running Operating System X.

Miramas is where the details get settled. The site offers a high-speed oval, a spread of handling circuits and every road surface imaginable. Engineers use it to fine-tune balance, steering feel and body control. The saloon had already survived the frozen expanses of Arjeplog and a battering at the Nürburgring before it turned up in France.

The hardware reads like a keen driver’s wish list. There is a double-joint strut front axle and a five-link rear, with stiffer anti-roll bar mounts on both. Standard dampers are newly developed, while adaptive M suspension sits on the options list. Buyers can even specify staggered 20-inch sports tyres for the first time. As development boss Dr Mihiar Ayoubi puts it, the goal is a car that feels “precise, assured and unmistakably BMW”.

Topping the petrol range is the M350 xDrive, with its mild-hybrid straight-six and a rear-driven Drift Moment mode. Series production starts in the second half of 2026. On this evidence, the new 3 Series wants to stay the sharpest saloon in its class. Bavaria is clearly not done chasing driving pleasure.