BMW is the short name for Bavarian Motor Works or Bayerische Motoren Werke (German version) It came into existance in 1916 through a merger between Rapp Motorenwerke and Gustav Otto Flugmaschinenfabrik (try saying ‘his’ name when you’re pissed!). They began to produce aircraft engines and then progressed to motorcycle engines, they didn’t go into car production until 1928.

When they took over a small company called Dixi, BMW inherited the licence to manufacture the Austin Seven. When BMW produced these British designed cars, they were known as the 3-15 CV. A sporty version won the team prize in the Alpine Cup in 1929 and then went on to win the class prize in the 1930 Monte Carlo Rally.

A chap called Frits Fiedler, was made chief engineer in 1933, in that year he was responsible for producing their 6 cylinder engine which was fitted to the 303(1173cc30hp), he was also rumoured to have ‘vays and meanz of making people talk’. That was the start of a long run of performance cars including the 1937 328 model, which when driven by Von Hanstein, went on to win the Mille Miglia at an average speed of over 103mph. The last car to be produced before the failed german attempt to kill everyone and take over the world (Second World War), was the BMW 335 which had a 3485cc engine.

With plans for ‘ze master race’ well and truly foiled, Bmw stopped producing war machinery to ‘crush ze british infidels’ and car production resumed in 1952 with the BMW 501, later models included the 502 and the 507.  Production volume during the fifties was low, as the Germans struggled to recover from the ass-kicking we gave those sausage muching b$&*£*ds. In 1959 Bmw were almost potless and had to come up with a car that could be sold in quantity to bring in some fast money. So having no ideas of their own that didn’t involve WORLD DOMINATION, they went back to building a car under licence and they chose the Italian Isetta. The Isetta was a dinky little bubblecar, it was produced from 1955-1962 and it helped the company to stay afloat during this period. During this same period of national recovery and embarrassment (they were hurt’in), BMW produced of another little car in 1959 called the 700, with just 2 cylinders, a Michelotti designed body and enough bootspace for your Jackboots, a machine gun, and a small gas cylinder, it was a great success with over 180,000 built from 1959-1965, but production ceased in 1965, around the same time as Germans began to realize that if they wanted another shot at world domination, they’d need bigger cars. The biggest boost for BMW came when they introduced the BMW 1500 in 1962, the range consisted of the 4 door 1800 and 2000, and the 2 door 1602 and 2002 saloons.

During the period 1968 to 1977 BMW produced a run of 2500 and 3300cc saloons culminating in the famous CS coupes.

During the 1970s BMW went through a period of updating their range and reduced their production into 3 basic models.

In 1972 the Series 5 was launched, 5 series consisted of 1.8-3.5 litre 4 or 6 cylinder saloons, they also introduced the Series 7, which had 6 cylinder engines only and where more prestigious and came with better equipment. The 6 Series coupes were later developed from the 7 Series. In 1975 the 3 Series was launched with the 1.8-2.3 litre 4 and 6 cylinder engines found in the 5 Series.

Since then BMW have developed their range to become one of the most prestigious car manufacturers today, they have gone through many changes as a company, having at times owned Rover before selling it to a company formed by Rover (figure that one out!), and they owned Land Rover before selling it to Ford, but not before skimming some ideas for the BMW X5 4X4.

BMW have been adding to their range with special models such as the popular Z3,Z4,Z8,X3 and 1 series. They have also done well in all of the major motorsport events. Their expertise and knowledge is showcased in their M series of cars like the M3, M5, M6 etc, the ‘M’ cars are denoted by the famous ‘M’ badge, these cars are often compared with some of the best sports cars in the world.

They have also contributed in no small way to one of the fastest road cars ever built, the McLaren F1 has a BMW 6.1 litre V12 engine and is capable of 231mph.

BMW have also brought back the Mini and Mini Cooper S with great success, they also own the Rolls Royce name and on 1st January 2003 delivered the new Rolls Royce from their new factory in Goodwood, this is the first all new Rolls Royce for some considerable time.  After reading this article you might be thinking that i’m slightly ‘anti-german’, well i’m not at all germanist, in fact I met a nice german lady once, when I was called out to her house to fix a computer, lets just say that she performed very well, even if it was a little germanic (YA,YA, SCHNELL!!!!). – lol.