BMW
BMW, acronym of Bayerische Motoren Werke (Bavarian motor works), is a German company and manufacturer of quality automobiles and motorcycles.
The 2003 Series 3 BMW.
BMW headquarters in Munich, Germany,
one of the few buildings built from top to bottom.
Larger version
BMW Z3 Sports Coupé
Larger version
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2 WWII 3 Aftermath of WWII 4 Post-war history 5 Motor Sport 6 BMW Motorcycles 7 External links |
History before WWII
The BMW logo is a circle divided into four quadrants of alternating white and light blue colour. This is a stylised representation of an aircraft propeller - the company was originally an aircraft engine manufacturer, founded by Karl Friedrich Rapp in October 1913 in the Milbertshofen district of Munich.
The location was chosen to be close to the Gustav Otto Flugmaschinenfabrik site.
In 1916 the company secured a contract to build V12 engines for Austria-Hungary. Needing extra finance, Rapp gained the support of Camillo Castiglioni and Max Friz, the company was reconstituted as the Bayerische Motoren Werke GmbH. Over-expansion caused difficulties, Rapp left and the company was taken over by the Austrian industrialist Franz Josef Popp in 1917, and named BMW AG from 1918.
The Treaty of Versailles (1919) prohibited the production of aircraft in Germany. Otto closed his factory and BMW switched to manufacturing railway brakes.
In 1927 the tiny Dixi, an Austin Seven produced under license, began production in Eisenach. BMW bought the company the following year, and this became the company's first car, the BMW 3/15. By 1933 BMW were producing cars that could be called truly theirs, offering steadily more advanced 6-cylinder sports and saloon cars. The pre-war cars culminated in the beautiful 327 saloon and 328 roadster, fast 2-litre cars, both very advanced for their time.
WWII
BMW was a major supplier of engines to the Luftwaffe and of engines and vechicles, especially motorcyles, to the Wehrmacht.
The aero-engines included the 801, one of the most powerful available. Over 30,000 were manufactured up to 1945.
BMW also researched jet engines, producing the BMW 003, and rocket based weapons.
The BMW works were heavily bombed towards the end of the war. Of its sites, those in eastern Germany (Eisenach, Dürrerhof, Basdorf and Zühlsdorf) were seized by the Soviets. The factory in Munich was largely destroyed.
Aftermath of WWII
After the war the Munich factory took some time to restart production in any volume.
BMW was banned from manufacturing for three years by the Allies and did not produce a car model until 1952.
In the east, the company's factory at Eisenach was taken over by the state-owned Awtowelo group. That company offered "BMW"s for sale until 1951, when the Bavarian company prevented use of the trademarks: the name, the logo and the "double-kidney" radiator grille.
The cars were then branded EMW (Eisenacher Motoren Werke), production continuing until 1955.
In the west, the BAC, Bristol Aeroplane Company, inspected the factory, and returned to England with plans for the 326, 327 and 328 models. These plans, which became official war reparations, along with BMW engineer Fritz Fiedler allowed the newly formed Bristol Cars to produce a new, high-quality sports saloon, the 400 by 1947, a car so similar to the BMW 327 that it even kept the famous BMW grille.
Classics
Post-war history
needs to be written
Models
Sedans
Sports Cars / M- and Z- Series
All-Wheel DriveRelated companies
Motor Sport
needs to be written
BMW Motorcycles
BMW motorcycles were first produced in 1923 and had an unusual "boxer twin" engine, with two air-cooled cylinders sticking out on opposite sides of the machine.
Final drive was by shaft.
Essentially, the same basic design is still manufactured by the company today. But other designs were also introduced.
