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Doing its Part
Perhaps it was inevitable, but a 3 Series without a Touring version sounds heretical. Granted, it was the i3 that was shown first, but BMW assured the world that even that is getting a station wagon version. After all, it’s pretty much a crime not to offer the more practical version in Europe.
During the launch of the i3 Sedan, BMW CEO Oliver Zipse said there will be more variations of the car, with the Touring being the first of its kind. A shadowy figure of the long-roof model was also shown during the electric 3 Series’ world. There was a glimpse of its side profile and tail lights, and that was pretty much it.
Bringing it to Life
Of course, it didn’t take long before digital artists fired up Photoshop to predict the look of the real deal. One such artist is Theottle, and thanks to a whole barrage of press photos, we have to say the render is a good indicator of the showroom version.
For this render, Theottle took the rear roof section of the iX3 and grafted it onto the i3 sedan. The virtual tuner then molded and reshaped some of the crossover’s bits to follow the sleeker and more rakish lines of the sedan, and the result is what you see here now. If you want to see the whole process, check out the quick video below.
Extending the EV Neue Klasse Family
As mentioned, BMW said it will be making more body styles of the i3. This leads us to believe that the company is staying true to its promise that the 4 Series will live on in some form. The folks from Munich are already winding down production of the current i4, indicating that something big is happening soon.
In a previous report, BMW’s R&D boss Joachim Post said he is well aware of the 4 Series’ popularity in both ICE and EV guises. He was quoted as saying, “The 4 Series is an important car for us. It’s more sporty, and BMW is a sporty brand which has a clear heritage also on the performance side. It will play an important role also for the future.”
With that in mind, we could see a new generation of the i4 sporting the same four-door liftback design from the outgoing model. We are, however, curious if there will be a two-door i4 or even a convertible. In the meantime, we wait to see if those models will indeed reach production, along with the ICE versions of the new-generation 3 Series.
Theottle/YouTube (Theottle/YouTube)
This story was originally published by Autoblog on Mar 21, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Autoblog as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
