BMW (Bayerische Flugzeug-Werke) - was founded by Carl Friedrich Rappe in October 1916 in Milberghausen, originally as a manufacturer of aviation engines. The outskirts of Munich Milbertshofen was chosen because it is located near the Gustav Otto-German manufacturer of aircraft. The white and blue circular emblem of BMW is used up to our time - it reflects the colors of the flag of Bavaria, and the emblem is a stylized image of the airplane propeller.
Chronology of development
In 1916, the company signs a contract for the production of V12 engines for Austro-Hungary. In need of additional funding, Rapp receives support from Camillo Castiglione and Max Fritz, the company re-established as Bayerische Motoren Werke GmbH (Bavarian Motor Works). Excess expansion became the cause of complexity, Rapp left the company, and the company's leadership was taken by the Austrian industrialist Franz Joseph Popp in 1917, the company was renamed BMW AG in 1918.
1919 - pilot Franz Zeno Dimer installs on a plane with the engine BMW IV world record high altitude on airplanes with an open cabin without an oxygen mask. The flight height was 9670 meters.
After the First World War, the Versailles Peace Treaty (1919) banned the production of aircraft in Germany. Otto closed his factory and BMW switched to the production of brake for trains.
1919 - BMW developed its first motorcycle engine, which was used in the Victoria model, which was issued by a company in the city of Nuremberg.
1922 - BMW is building its current main building east of Munich's Oberwiesenfeld Airport (today it's the city's Olympic Center).
1923 - young engineer Max Fritz in 5 weeks creates the first motorcycle BMW R32 and launches it into production. At the Paris Motor Show, he called a technical sensation. The motorcycle had a horizontally -positive air-cooled engine with a capacity of 500 cm³ and a cardan transmission, the principle of which is still applied on motorcycles of BMW.
1924 - The first intercontinental flight to Persia on an airplane equipped with BMW engines.
1926 - The Rohrbach Ro VII hydroplane with engines of the BMW VI sets the five world records.
1927 was the most fruitful record for BMW. This year 87 world records in aviation were established. 29 of them - on airplanes with BMW engines.
1928 - BMW begins production of cars. The first 100 licensed "Dixies", enjoying incredible success in Britain, descended from the conveyor in Germany with the right wheel. From November 16, 1928, Dixie ceased to exist as a trademark - it was replaced by BMW. From this moment begins the era of automotive BMW.
1929 - BMW is going to set the world speed record on the R37 sportbike. For this purpose, a new version of the 750 cm³ engine is being developed and work is underway to improve aerodynamics. On September 19, 1929, Ernest Henn was able to set a new world record speed of 216 km / h on one of the trails north of Munich. (And in 1937, it only shows a unique speed of 279.5 km / h for that time, and this record was beaten only in 14 years).
1932 - the first own model 3/20 was developed. on which the emblem of BMW with a stylized propeller was painted.
1933 - the launch of the model 303 - the first BMW car with a 6-cylinder engine. It is this model that first receives a characteristic grille of the radiator. popularly called the "nostrils" of BMW. These nostrils have become a typical element of the design of all BMW cars.
1936 - the beginning of the legend. BMW is releasing the fastest production sports car 328. For that time, it was just the forefront of technical novelties: a tubular frame, a six-cylinder engine with a head light-alloy unit, a new system of valve mechanisms with barbells. With the 328 models, BMW was so famous in the second half of the '30s that all of the following cars with a two-color logo were perceived by the public as a symbol of high quality, reliability, and beauty. With its appearance, the ideology of BMW was finally formed, to this day the defining concept of the new models "The car - for the driver". The main competitor BMW - Mercedes-Benz, adheres to the principle "Car - for passengers". Since then, every firm is on its way, proving that it is her choice that is right. Today BMW 328 is a car legend. The saved car can not be bought for any money.
1938 - BMW licensed Pratt-Whitney engines. Then the model 132 is being developed. It is installed on the famous Junkers U52. In the same year, the fastest pre-war model of the motorcycle, with a power of 60 hp, is created. and a maximum speed of 210 km / h. In 1939, the German racer Georg Mayer became the European champion on this motorcycle. And for the first time, a foreigner on a foreign motorcycle wins the British race "Senior Tourist Trophy".
1940 - sensational victories at Mille Miglia races. For four years, only 464 specimens of the BMW 328 were made, but they were out of the competition. In 1938 racing versions of these cars took part in the legendary Italian races Mille Miglia.
