Things you didn't know about the German carmaker : BMW
BMW is a famous name in the automobile industry started way back in 1916 as an
aircraft manufacturer. Its vehicles are sold under BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce,
and motorcycles are made under their own brand
BMW Motorrad. They have been an active participant in motorsport events
like F1, touring cars, Isle of Man TT.
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| BMW M4 |Toby_Parsons via pixabay |
Its headquartered in Munich, Germany and produces in various countries
including India, China, South Africa. The building itself is an architectural
marvel, BMW four-cylinder.
1. BMW stands for Bayerische Motoren Werke
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| BMW Z4 | MikesPhotos via pixabay |
It is an acronym that stands for Bayerische Motoren Werke. However, the
name BMW dates back to 1913, when the original company to use the name BMW was
born (initially as Rapp Motorenwerke) In English, it means Bavarian Motor
Works. The acronym isn’t pronounced as B-M-W in German but as B-M-V.
2. Story of its logo
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| The iconic logo | Philippe Oursel via Unsplash |
The company said its logo draws inspiration from a rotating propeller of an
aircraft. The flag of the German state, Bavaria has two primary colours, Blue
and White and so does the logo. But many say the logo existed before it ever
graced a propeller.
3. Started as an aircraft manufacturer
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| Production at Rapp Motorenwerke in Munich. In 1917, the company became known as Bayerische Motoren Werke GmbH. | via BMW official |
Aircraft engines, motorcycles, and automobiles would be BMW's main products
until World War II. One doesn’t simply symbolize a propeller in the logo of an
automobile company without any reason. Karl Rapp was the owner of an aircraft
company, Rapp Motorenwerke before he established BMW. The newly formed company
specialized in manufacturing aircraft engines which followed till the World War
I. After the events of the war, the company was restricted from producing
aircraft engines anymore. In order to sustain itself, the company shifted to
manufacture motorcycles and eventually, cars.
4. The first car, Dixi
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| The Dixi | via autocarsindustry.com |
BMW became an automobile manufacturer in 1928 when it purchased
Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach, which built Austin Sevens under licence under the Dixi
marque. The first car sold as a BMW was a rebadged Dixi called the BMW 3/15. In
America, Bantam built the same car. In Japan, it was called Datsun. Austin
designed and built the chassis to be used under license around the world, and
several companies jumped at the chance to avoid the inherent development costs
associated with making a car.
5. BMW made the fastest motorcycle
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| WR 500 | via schintzelbahn.com |
Ever since the company stopped making aircraft engines, they started
manufacturing bikes. The WR 500 made history by becoming the fastest motorcycle
of the World in 1937. It achieved a record-breaking speed of about 170 mph
which was a miracle and unachievable at that time.
6. Signature front grills
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| BMWs Kidney grills | Ibrownstone via Pixabay |
The company has produced various models over the years. In spite of their
huge number, a distinctive feature of all BMW cars is the presence of Kidney
grills. All BMW cars come with a pair of unique front-facing grills that are
known by the name of kidney grills.
7. The vision of electric cars
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| BMW 1602e | Ciprian Florea via topspeed.com |
Conceived as a prototype in 1969, this battery-powered BMW premiered at the
1972 Olympic Games in Munich, conveniently in time for the OPEC crisis. It was
used to support marathon and prevent the participants from inhaling harmful
gases during the competition. But the batteries needed to be swapped after every
discharge.
8. Custom car culture
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| Orange bmw | Rangga Aditya Armien via Pexels |
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