BMW is one of the most important automobile companies in the world, whose headquarters are located in the city of Munich. It was born on March 7, 1916 as a manufacturer of aircraft engines, so that its founders made a fortune during World War I, as detailed in ‘Autocasión’. But why does it have the BMW name? Let’s learn more about its origin
History of BMW
BMW’s predecessor was Rapp Motorenwerke GmbH , which was founded in 1913 by Karl Rapp. The change to the BMW name took place in 1917 which stands for Bayerische Motoren Werke (Bavarian Engine Factory).
Engineer Max Friz developed a high compression aircraft engine that made it possible to reduce the loss of performance at altitude. It was a revolutionary invention for the time, and the Prussian army commissioned 2,000 engines from it.
When World War I ended and the Treaty of Versailles was signed, it seemed that BMW was going to come to an end as the treaty expressly prohibited the manufacture of aircraft engines for five years . At that time, the company only manufactured and marketed this product.
As an alternative, BMW decided to try its luck in the motorcycle rider market . On September 28, 1923, he presented the first model, which was very successful. In 128 he bought the Eisenach vehicle factory and began manufacturing automobiles.
The well-known white and blue BMW logo dates from 1917 and symbolizes the flag of the Free State of Bavaria.
Name of car models
As he explains, BMW choosing the name for a new model involves a long and complex process since it must be understood throughout the world. Expert Petra Marz clarifies what the BMW 745e model means .
The first three-digit number (7) represents the model series . The higher the number, the higher the rank of the car within the BMW range. The even numbers are for the sportier models.
The next two figures (45) indicate the engine displacement in kW : the number 45 has a power between 300 and 350 kW.
And finally, the lowercase letter, which refers to the engine technology : gasoline engine (i), diesel (d), plug-in hybrid engine (e).
