Containing leaks is not one of BMW's strong suits. The new 2 Series leaked a few days ahead of its global reveal, the designs of the new X3 and its electric sibling were revealed early too, as were images of the i4 M50 electric sedan. There are countless other examples we could list, but you get the idea. As numerous as these leaks have been, they're not stopping anytime soon, and a new set of images have just added to the list. In the photos, we see the G20 3 Series, but there are a few changes that suggest this could be the 2022 model.

It may seem premature to have an LCI (or Life Cycle Impulse, BMW-speak for facelift) version of the 3 Series already, but the G20 debuted almost four years ago, and next year is about right for an update. But back to the images above. In it, we see that the headlight accents have been completely redesigned, with the DRLs apparently inverted and the overall shape smoothened. This seems to give the 3 Series a simpler headlight shape that is more in line with what we see on the 4 Series and the new X3. Speaking of the X3, the new front bumper we see here appears to borrow cues from the crossover.

Fortunately, it appears that the large grilles seen on the 4 Series and the M3 won't be transferred to the regular 3 Series. Other details of note include carbon fiber M-style mirror caps and a carbon trunk spoiler, as well as a side-profile decal. These are all things we'd expect to see on a model with M Performance parts, likely an M340i. Sadly, there are no images of the rear, but the above picture seems to show a new rear bumper, again with X3 influence. And with the regular stream of leaked images from BMW, we wouldn't be surprised if we have the full picture before this car's expected reveal next year.