BMW

Ahhh, the mother company.

History

Origins

Like so many of the world's car companies, BMW didn't start out making cars. Their story begins properly in 1913, when two Germans came together in Munich to form an aircraft engine company that would supply the German air force. The technical brains behind this company was Karl Rapp, whose name formed the basis of Rapp Motorenwerke GmbH.

One would expect the outbreak of WWI to be kind to the company, and it was, thanks to regular orders from the Austro-Hungarian empire. But as the war effort escalated, Rapp's wobbly, rattly engines failed to keep pace with the march of technology, and it was only thanks to the innovative designs of a young engineer called Max Friz that the company was able to continue. Friz developed the Rapp engines into a record-breaking engine called the IIIa.

The success of the IIIa was the downfall of Rapp. When the powers behind the company realised that the technical potential lay in the hands of young Friz, they terminated Rapp's contract, effectively ousting him from the company he had created. To disassociate themselves from his name, the company was renamed to Bayerische Motorenwerke GmbH, the first iteration of BMW. The famous roundel badge, portraying the initial letters above the blue-and-white of the Bavarian flag, comes from this time.

Unfortunately for the new form, things didn't go too well. As you may know, the Axis powers didn't win WWI, and in the following resolution the Treaty of Versailles placed huge restrictions on Germany's production capabilities, shutting down BMW's production at a stroke, and they were left producing a trickle of bespoke industrial machines.

At this point some clever finances stepped in. Another ex-aircraft company, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFw) was finding its post-war business increasingly difficult. It had diversified into two industries; fitted kitchens and motorbikes, but was struggling to turn a profit with either. With its machinery becoming increasingly antiquated, it was acquired by the richest man in Central Europe, one Camillo Castiglioni. A keen aviator and canny investor, he also bought the rights to the BMW name and the machinery and patents with it, and thus set about incorporating that into BFw by transferring the equipment of the former to the factory of the latter, renaming the company BMW AG. He remained as president of the firm until 1929.

It was under Castiglioni that the real masterdeal was struck. As a competent manufacturer of aircraft engines and motorbikes, it seemed only natural for BMW to move into automobiles. With that in mind, BMW purchased Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach A.G in the neighbouring state of Thuringia. This company, known as AWE, was producing a licensed copy of the Austin Seven, known as the Dixi.

First Cars

The Dixi was BMW's first automobile. Having acquired both the rights and the tools, BMW first set about increasing production, then improving the performance of the model. Renaming the car the BMW 3/15, it went through a number of technical iterations which, leaving the engine untouched, affected everything from the gearing to the brakes. BMW also used the platform for its first sports cars; 150 hand-crafted roadsters with a high-compression 18hp motor called the 3/15 DA-3 Wartburg. Remember that name, we'll need it later.

The trouble with the 3/15 was the licensing. Despite the changes BMW made, the car was still heavily based on the Austin Seven, and BMW had to pay royalties to the British manufacturer for every model sold. To that end, they set about building their own car by attaching the technologies they'd developed to a newly-designed chassis. Power would still come from an Austin-derived engine, but BMW's aviation expertise boosted power from the feeble 15hp to a more practical 20hp, which earned the car its moniker 3/20.

BMW thrived in the Thirties. Its first six-cylinder car, the 303, would also be the first BMW to sport the iconic kidney grilles. From there the cars would come thick and fast, with another ten models being released in four-door saloon, coupe and roadster form until World War II, when the factory was inevitably converted for the war effort.

Post-War

In 1945, when the rubble had settled and the smoke cleared, BMW found itself in a quandary. Its operational headquarters were in Munich, but its factories were in Thuringia; territory now under the control of the Soviets, who put the BMW factory back into commission and used it to continue production of the pre-war models 327 and 340. It wasn't until 1952, after the separation of Germany into East and West, that BMW was able to reclaim its name and trademarks. The Eisenach factory would remain under state control as EMW, producing a rattly Communist motor known as the Wartburg.

While the old factory slogged on under foreign control, BMW's Munich operations retooled for their post-war future. Their first new models, launched in the Fifties, were enormous luxury products; V8 leviathans that earned the nickname "Baroque Angels" in Germany. But these sumptuous sedans and roadsters were too rich for most people's blood, and BMW was forced into producing the "Bubble car" under licence from Isetta, in order to have a better-selling mass-production vehicle in its stable.

The lack of sales of its top-end vehicles, and the corresponding need for poverty motoring throughout Europe, saw BMW developing its own bargain-price solutions, which came in the form of the BMW 700 saloon. Released at a tipping point in BMW's finances with the company facing both bankruptcy and a competition buyout, these little cars quickly captured the heart of the market, and rescued BMW's reputation as a maker of sporting sedans. A Sports version of the 700 was released, and BMW also began its co-operation with Baur to bring a convertible to the market.

Neu Klasse

BMW may have found its financial salvation in the small 700, but they always knew their heart lay in larger saloons. The Sixties revolution would see BMW release its New Class 1500' model with the now-iconic Hofmeister Kink; a returning curve at the base of each car's C-pillar to denote rear-wheel-drive performance. Alongside these, BMW launched the New Six sedans with six-cylinder 2.5- and 2.8-litre engines, as well as a new range of sleek V8-powered roadsters, starting with the 3200 CS.

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