Symmetry is an important property shared by a large number of nonlinear dynamical systems. Although the study of nonlinear systems with a symmetry property is very well documented, the literature has no sufficient investigation on the important issues concerning the behavior of such systems when their symmetry is broken or altered. In this work, we introduce a novel autonomous 3D system with cyclic symmetry having a piecewise quadratic nonlinearity [Formula: see text] where parameter [Formula: see text] is fixed and parameter [Formula: see text] controls the symmetry and the nonlinearity of the model. Obviously, for [Formula: see text] the system presents both cyclic and inversion symmetries while the inversion symmetry is explicitly broken for [Formula: see text]. We consider in detail the dynamics of the new system for both two regimes of operation by using classical nonlinear analysis tools (e.g. bifurcation diagrams, plots of largest Lyapunov exponents, phase space trajectory plots, etc.). Several nonlinear patterns are reported such as period doubling, periodic windows, parallel bifurcation branches, hysteresis, transient chaos, and the coexistence of multiple attractors of different topologies as well. One of the most gratifying features of the new system introduced in this work is the existence of several parameter ranges for which up to twelve disconnected periodic and chaotic attractors coexist. This latter feature is rarely reported, at least for a simple system like the one discussed in this work. An electronic analog device of the new cyclic system is designed and implemented in PSpice. A very good agreement is observed between PSpice simulation and the theoretical results.