Today, Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) is associated with luxurious, sporty cars, but the company's foundations were laid in a completely different industry. Over its more than a century-long history, the company has undergone radical transformations dictated by world wars, economic crises, and technological innovations.
Founding and Aviation Roots
BMW's history began in 1916 with the reorganization of the aircraft engine factory Rapp Motorenwerke. During World War I, the company gained fame for creating the BMW IIIa – an inline six-cylinder aviation engine known for its exceptional performance at high altitudes. After the war, the Treaty of Versailles prohibited Germany from producing military aircraft and their engines, forcing BMW to quickly change its business direction to avoid bankruptcy.
Interwar Period: Birth of Motorcycles and Entry into the Automotive Market
Having lost aviation orders, the company began producing brakes for trains and industrial engines. In 1923, engineer Max Friz created the first BMW motorcycle – the R32. It featured a boxer engine and a driveshaft, an architecture that became a BMW motorcycle hallmark and is still used today.
BMW entered the automotive market in 1928, acquiring the Eisenach automobile factory, where the Dixi model was produced under license from the British Austin 7. In the 1930s, BMW began developing its own, more powerful cars. This is when the legendary kidney grille (Niere) appeared. The pinnacle of interwar engineering was the BMW 328 sports car, introduced in 1936, which dominated European race tracks, including the famous Mille Miglia competition.
World War II: Wehrmacht Technology and Innovations
With the outbreak of World War II, BMW once again became a strategic part of the military industry, mass-producing aircraft engines for the Luftwaffe. Their most famous creation was the BMW 801 radial engine, fitted to one of the best fighter planes of its time, the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. The company was also a pioneer in the development of jet engines (BMW 003).
Heavy and reliable BMW motorcycles became indispensable on land fronts. The BMW R75 stood out in the model lineup. This was a motorcycle with a sidecar specially designed for military needs. Its uniqueness lay in its transmission – power was transferred not only to the rear wheel of the motorcycle but also to the sidecar wheel, and the system featured a locking differential and reverse gear.
These solutions allowed the R75 to overcome the toughest off-road conditions. The motorcycles proved particularly effective in the harsh conditions of the North African deserts, where they were used by General Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps. To protect the engines from fine desert sand, special high-pressure air filters were installed, and the air-cooled boxer engine perfectly tolerated extreme temperature fluctuations.
Soviet Copies: Origin of Ural and Dnepr
The reliability of BMW motorcycles did not go unnoticed by the USSR military command. Even before Germany attacked the Soviet Union, the Russians acquired several units of the BMW R71 (a pre-war model, preceding the R75) through intermediaries in Sweden. Engineers dismantled these motorcycles and copied every detail, creating the Soviet analogue M-72.
During the war, production was moved east to the Ural region (Irbit factory). After the war, the production of these copies continued, and the brands Ural (in Russia) and Dnepr (in Ukraine) used pre-war BMW technology and boxer engine architecture for decades, supplying equipment to both the military and civilians.
Post-War Crisis, Microcars, and Survival
After the war, BMW was on the verge of extinction. The Eisenach factory remained in the Soviet occupation zone (later producing cars under the EMW name), and the equipment of the Munich factory was dismantled. To survive, the company produced pots, pans, and bicycles. Only in 1948 was motorcycle production allowed to resume (the single-cylinder BMW R24 was released).
In the 1950s, BMW produced luxurious but unprofitable cars (V8-powered Baroque Angels and the iconic BMW 507 roadster). The company was saved from bankruptcy and sale to the Mercedes-Benz concern by investments from the Quandt family and the two-seater microcar Isetta, produced under Italian license. This cheap, economical "bubble" with a motorcycle engine generated the necessary revenue for the company's recovery.
Neue Klasse, M Division, and Motorsport Triumph
The true revival occurred in 1962 with the introduction of the Neue Klasse (BMW 1500 model). This car formed the concept of a modern sporty sedan, which laid the groundwork for the 3, 5, and 7 Series. BMW's focus on driving dynamics became the main marketing and engineering emphasis.
In 1972, BMW Motorsport GmbH (now BMW M) was established with the goal of dominating racing. The first independent project was the supercar BMW M1, but the greatest legacy became the BMW M3 (E30). This model was created specifically for Group A Touring car racing and became the most successful touring car in motorsport history. BMW also achieved victories in Formula 1 – in 1983, Nelson Piquet became world champion driving a car with a BMW M12/13 four-cylinder turbo engine, which generated over 1000 horsepower in qualifying mode.
Current Situation: Electrification and Modular Platforms
Today, the BMW Group, which owns the Mini and Rolls-Royce brands, is one of the most stable and profitable luxury car manufacturers in the world. Maintaining its independence (the Quandt family still holds a significant stake), the company is transitioning to mass electrification.
From early carbon fiber experiments with the i3 and i8 models, BMW now uses flexible architectures that allow the production of internal combustion, hybrid, and fully electric cars on the same platform (e.g., i4, iX). Preparing for the future, the company has revived a historical name – the new generation platform for exclusively electric cars, debuting in 2025, is once again called Neue Klasse, symbolizing another radical technological transformation in the company's history.
