BMW

BMW (Bavarian Motor Works) is a German-based car and motorcycle manufacturer. BMW also owns Mini and Rolls-Royce. Its brand is symbolized by blue and white propellers, which comes from BMW's origins as an aircraft engine manufacturer.

BMW Timeline

1913: BMW begins with Karl Friedrich Rapp of Bavaria beginning an aircraft engine manufacturing company called Rapp Motor Works in Germany.

1916: Rapp Motor Works absorbs Gustav Otto's aircraft factory to become Bavarian Aircraft Works. The company officially becomes Bavarian Motor Works, or BMW, on March 7.

1917: BMW's first aircraft engine, Type Illa, goes into production and is bought by the German government at the urging of Franz-Josef Popp, current company director at the time.

1918: BMW's first engine powered a biplane to 5,000 meters (16,404 feet) in altitude and the company become s public, owned by shareholders.

1919: BMW goes into the production of boat and truck engines, as well as farming equipment, after the armistice is signed during WWI. The same year, the Type IV engine does into production, setting an altitude record of 9,760 meters (32,013 feet).

1920: Struggling from the war, BMW goes into the production of railway cars, office furniture, workbenches

and motorcycle engines. The same year, the BMW logo - a circular design intended to look like an aircraft propeller - is introduced.c

1921: The first motorized bicycle by BMW, the Flink, goes into production.

1922: The first BMW factory is built in Munich.

1923: The first BMW R32 motorcycle premieres at the

Berlin Automobile Show.

1924: The first intercontinental flight to Persia is powered by BMW engines.

1926: BMW remains a leader in the aeronautical industry, gaining five world records for the Rohrbach Ro VII seaplane outfitted with a BMW VI engine.

1927: Of the 87 world records in aviation this year, BMW

rakes in 29 with their engines.

1928: BMW acquired a small car factory and builds their first small car, the Dixi 3/15.c

1932: The 3/20PS BMW car model goes into production featuring an engine with suspended valves that produced 20 horsepower at 3500 rpm, reaching a top speed of 50 mph.

1933: The first BMW to use twin-kidney shaped radiator grilles, the 303 Saloon, debuts.

1935: BMW produces the first motorcycle with a hydraulically damped telescopic front wheel fork in the K12.

1936: The BMW 328 Roadster debuts.c

1942: BMW helps the WWII effort by producing rocket

engines.

1943: BMW works on the 109-003 get engine - one of the first mass-produced get engines worldwide.

1944: The BMW plant in Munich is destroyed by air raids and dismantles.

1945: The first BMW bicycle with a lightweight aluminum frame debuts. The U.S. military orders BMW plants be

dismantled.c

1952: The BMW R68 debuts with the capability of reaching speeds of 160 kmh (99.4 mph).

1954: The first all-aluminum V8 engine worldwide goes into production. BMW becomes the World Motorcycle Sidecar Champion, holding the title for the next 20 years.

1956: The BMW 507 is the most recognized classic of the

1950s.

1959: Herbert Quandt, a financier, acquires BMW shares and initiates the reorganization of the company.c

1961: The first sport BMW sedan debuts.

1965: BMW withdraws from the construction of jet engines for the next 25 years in an effort to focus on cars and motorcycles.c

1972: The first BMW 5-Series debuts in the E12, targeted for the American market. BMW Motorsport is founded and a new factory is constructed in South Africa.