BMW Independent Service

The BMW Story

BMW traces its roots to the company founded by Karl Rapp and Gustav Otto as Bayerische Flugzeugwerke, later renamed Bayerische Motoren Werke. During the First World War it built aircraft engines — a heritage reflected in the badge, whose blue stands for the sky and whose white recalls a spinning propeller. The first BMW motorcycle, the R32, arrived in 1923, and the purchase of the Eisenach factory in 1928 took the company into car production — first under an Austin Seven licence in 1929, then with its own small car and the legendary 303 of 1933, the year BMW also entered motorsport.

After the Second World War the Eisenach plant fell within the Soviet zone, where pre-war models continued until a 1952 court ruling forced the East German firm to rename its cars EMW. In Munich, BMW restarted with the R24 motorcycle and entered the luxury class with the 501 in 1951 — a costly venture that, combined with a slump in the motorcycle market, brought the company to the edge of bankruptcy. The little Isetta of 1955 helped carry it through.

The 1500 of 1962 opened BMW's modern mid-class era, followed by the 1800 and 2000 and, in 1966, the celebrated 02 models. The 5 Series arrived in 1972, the first 6 Series coupe in 1976 and the 7 Series a year later, while the E30 3 Series remains admired to this day. The M cars began with the M5 sports saloon in 1985 and the M3 soon after, and the 750iL brought a twelve-cylinder engine to the flagship. Roadsters followed with the Z1, Z3 and Z4. Today the BMW marque sits alongside Mini and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars within the BMW Group, which manufactures at plants in several countries.