1986 BMW 325 - 325 iX

BMW’s first series-production four-wheel-drive passenger car

M20 2.5-litre straight-six with 171 hp

Used predominantly in winter rallies

With its last owner since 2013

Four-wheel drive was for off-roaders. Or Audis. BMW, naturally, saw things a little differently in the mid-1980s and introduced the 325 iX, the first series-production four-wheel-drive passenger car in the company’s history.

The basis was the successful E30. Under the bonnet sat the familiar 2.5-litre M20 straight-six, producing 171 hp. In terms of engine performance, then, the iX differed little from the 325i. The crucial difference lay underneath.

BMW developed a permanent four-wheel-drive system using viscous couplings. In normal driving, approximately 37 per cent of the power went to the front wheels and 63 per cent to the rear. The idea was to keep the iX sure-footed on snow and poor surfaces without entirely sacrificing the rear-biased character expected of a BMW.

Accommodating the additional drivetrain required extensive changes to the E30. The front axle, oil sump and parts of the floorpan differed from those of the rear-wheel-drive models. The iX could also be distinguished externally by its flared wheelarches and side skirts, while the body sat slightly higher.

The 325 iX was presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1985 and initially reached the market as a two-door model in 1986. Four-door and Touring versions followed later. Particularly in Switzerland and other snow-rich regions, it became an interesting alternative to Audi’s quattro models.

Today, the 325 iX ranks among the more unusual E30 variants. It combines the silky straight-six with technology that was entirely new territory for BMW at the time. The fact that almost two-thirds of the power still went to the rear was presumably Munich’s idea of diplomacy.

The car offered here was first registered in Lower Austria and had been in the hands of its last owner since 2013. Service and repair records from this period document the BMW’s ongoing maintenance. The 325 iX also benefits from historic registration.

Its long-term owner was closely involved in the Austrian classic-car scene and active as an organiser of historic rallies. Appropriately enough, the BMW was not merely preserved and collected, but also used in winter rallies – precisely the sort of terrain for which the iX had once been developed.