BMW is the world's largest manufacturer of engines, cars and even bicycles. The BMW emblem is well known all over the world, and this badge is in one of the first places in recognition among automakers.
BMW is an abbreviation, the full translation of which from German sounds like "Bavarian Motor Plants", and the very first workshops of this company were opened in the city of Munich in southern Germany. The history of BMW begins in 1913, when the first aircraft engines were manufactured at the plant of this company. The location of the production was also not chosen by chance, because then there was a plant for the production of aircraft near Munich, for which BMW supplied engines.
Powered by a BMW-5 aircraft engine, the Rohrbach Ro VII seaplane set five world records in 1926. This plane could fly 1500 kilometers at a speed of 200 km / h.
At the same time, a prototype of the modern BMW badge was created, depicting a spinning propeller driven by BMW engines. The company's modern logo also depicts a propeller, and the blue and white colors in the logo are present as a sign of respect for Bavaria, the manufacturer's homeland, where these colors are present on the regional flag. The first version of the BMW badge, which clearly depicted a propeller, lasted only three years, and then the logo was updated and it became similar to the modern one. By the way, propellers were also produced at BMW factories. The release of aviation products was significantly reduced after the First World War, since according to the Versailles Peace Treaties, Germany was simply prohibited from producing military equipment, which means that there were fewer orders. Since then, the bmw badge has increasingly appeared on civilian products, and less than 20 years later, the company has completely switched to the production of cars and motorcycles.
BMW Museum in Munich
The leading German car manufacturer has its own museum, which is visited by approximately 250,000 people every year. Such a small number of guests is explained by the fact that the museum practically does not advertise, and travelers learn about it from their friends and through travel guides and the Internet. The BMW Museum is located right outside the company's headquarters near the Munich Olympic Park, and was built in time for the 1972 Olympics. It is in the corporate museum that you can look at the very first aircraft engines and propellers, from which the history of BMW began. And in addition to all car models produced by the company over more than 100 years of its history, here you can see the conceptual developments of our time.
The first car under the BMW badge
BMW released its very first car in 1928, and it was called Dixi.
In addition to comfortable and prestigious cars, BMW successfully produces motorcycles. The first "iron horse" under the BMW badge rolled off the assembly line in 1923.
This popular small car was not a self-development of the company and was just a copy of the British Austin 7, which BMW produced after buying a car plant in Thuringia. But already in 1933, the Berlin Auto Show was struck by the chic BMW-303, entirely developed by Bayerisch Motoren Werke. This car can be seen in old films and on the pages of the history textbook. Such a car was very suitable for driving on the Autobahns and could reach a speed of 90 km / h.
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