15 Astonishing BMW Facts that Car Lovers Have to Know
Today, BMW requires no introduction as it has adorned the mantel of being one of the premium automobile makers long enough. For those with a taste for cars which are all about luxury, state of the art technology and incredible performance, BMW has been the one maker that caters to all of that.
Over the years, the German car maker has always been setting new standards for all aspects of car manufacturing. In this article, we will present to you some of the little known 15 BMW facts that you must know if you are an automobile nut.
15 BMW Facts That You May Not Know
We will discover each BMW fact step by step with 15 BMW facts below to help you have a broaden knowledge about the world’s twelfth largest producer of motor vehicles. Here we go!
BMW Fact 1 : BMW Stands For Bavarian Motor Works
First of all in 15 BMW facts is that BMW stands for Bavarian Motor Works. BMW was originally founded in 1916 to meet the demand of World War one for airplane engines. The Versailles armistice treaty signed in 1919 after the end of the war prohibited the company from manufacturing airplane engines, as a result BMW shifted to producing motorcycles all the way until 1928 when they finally made the shift into automobiles and started becoming the company we know today.
BMW did fairly well through the 1950s but ran into financial trouble in 1958. After a shareholders meeting the company decided to carry on with the car manufacturing though finding and alternative means of securing their part of the high car demand was necessary. The purchased of the rights to manufacture the Italian ISO Isetta led to their own version, which was powered by their motorcycle engines due to its tiny fame, and this turned out to be pretty successful ; landing the company back on their feet.
BMW Fact 2 : Future Looked Blue
BMW was nearly liquidated in 1959. Another car manufacturer considered moving in for an acquisition which would have been legendary to say the least. Daimler Benz, who you might recognize as the parent company of Mercedes made a valiant attempt to buy the company out. It nearly happened too but the above-mentioned shareholders meeting was the final factor in the company’s decision to give it one more shot.
BMW Fact 3 : EMW?
Have you heard about EMW? Here is the next thing in the list of BMW facts we want to share. There was a BMW factory that located in Eisenach, Germany which was taken over by the Soviets after WWII. The factory continued making cars under the BMW name and logo until a lawsuit force that’s changed its name to EMW. The company had a logo similar to BMW’s but with the blue replaced with red.
BMW Fact 4 : BMW Logo Means Not So fast?
That’s actually a common misconception and has no basis. In fact the logo actually existed before the company started producing aircraft engines and it’s blue and white color scheme is actually supposed to represent the Barbarian flag. But the company wanted to associate it with aircraft propellers so they actually played up this rumor and their advertisements for quite some time.
BMW Fact 5: The Kitchen Sink
So by now, you know that BMW originally made aircraft engines but was banned from doing so after WWI. Well did you know that similar restrictions were placed on the company after WWII, but this time the company was banned from producing vehicles of any kind.
It’s true that the Allied forces placed sweeping restrictions on many German companies after the fall of the Third Reich. This action was to ensure that they broke the back of the German war machine once and for all. They were once again allowed to produce motorcycles in 1947 and all vehicles once again in 1951, but how they sustained themselves. The interim is quite surprising the famous luxury and sport car manufacturer instead made cast-iron pots and pans.
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BMW Fact 6: Before It Was Cool
Most car manufacturers are getting in on the electric car game nowadays and BMW is no exception. However, It may surprise you to hear when they designed and built their first electric car way back in 1972. BMW manufactured a short run of their famous 1602 model, which was powered by 12 batteries and had a driving range of 19 miles on a single charge.
While the car was never really intended for mass consumer availability, it did demonstrate that the company was forward-thinking and gave the world a glimpse of what was to come.
BMW Fact 7 : Mini Takeover
Another demonstration of BMWs smart tactics in the world of business is that they acquired the MINI brand and entirely of the Rover Group in 1994 from its previous owner – British Aerospace. Instead of just running with the models they now had available under the terms of the acquisition, BMW decided to uphold their standards and redesign the mini lineup to include the characteristics of the BMW brand.
As a whole same concepts which were used in the now iconic MINI Cooper car were then used by BMW to create a luxury line of compact cars known as the BMW series one. These acquisitions were actually part of a larger move by the company to pick up many brands which came to prominence in England. Eventually another well-known brand BMW acquired in this move was Land Rover fell out of plan. BMW then sold it to Ford in 2006.
BMW Fact 8 : Hybrid Theory
In the 15 BMW facts, it should be a mistake if we do not mention about Hybrid Theory. One of the newest additions to the BMW family is the i8, the hybrid supercar brand. Besides it’s incredibly cool and futuristic design, the i8 is noteworthy for a few other reasons. It puts out an incredible 420 foot-pounds of torque which feeds an insane acceleration ability. Drivers have described as firmly pressing them in the seat when the pedals was pushed.
The i8 claims a top speed of 150 miles per hour though this is actually limited by electronic governance in order to keep in line with car manufacturing laws. A major drawback of electric cars has always been the charging time, which making you wait for hours to top-up your vehicle. Although the i8 is a hybrid and therefore won’t leave you stranded anyway. It’s electric batteries require just 90 minutes from a full drain to a full charge, which catches the eye of many eager consumers.
BMW Fact 9 : Rolling In Style
Although BMW is known as a luxury brand in and of itself the company also owns another well-known brand. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited is a brand which was founded as a subsidiary of BMW in 1998 and which began producing cars in 2003, and of course the Rolls-royce brand has been around much longer than that, nearly 100 years. In fact the first rolls-royce car was manufactured in 1906 though these vehicles are not officially a part of the BMW family in any way other than its name.
BMW Fact 10 : The Future
Although the i8 is futuristic enough as it is. BMW is proven to be forward-thinking company that never settles on just blowing our minds once or a decade. They are currently researching and developing the next lines of cars for both luxury and consumer markets some of these include 328 Hommage which clearly is a throwback to a Art Deco era of car design and as a sight to behold for sure. Gina which is an entirely fabric skinned concept car which can change shape to match environmental conditions surrounding the vehicle including temperature and speed. The m9 which is a very futuristic looking car design to be at the higher end of the luxury manufacturers market.
BMW Fact 11 : Stable Outlook
Another fact of 15 BMW facts is its stable outlook. BMW isn’t just working on incredible car concepts though, they are still very active in the motorcycle market. BWM is currently working on some pretty amazing and groundbreaking things for bike lovers as well.In celebration of their 100th anniversary – October of 2016, BMW unveiled a new concept bike dubbed as the vision motorcycle in the next 100 years.
It features a flexible frame and motor block and it get this gyroscopically stabilized. The latter is incredible because it will help the buy stay upright in an unprecedented level not only while moving but also while stopped meaning you’ll only need the kickstand when you actually park the bike and turn it off.
BMW Fact 12 : Right In The Kidney
Most people think of the iconic blue and white logo when they hear the name BMW, but there’s actually another design that BMW wants to be synonymous with the brand. In 1933 the German manufacturer debuted the 303 which featured an iconic front grille design, this was so popular that they would go on to be trademarked by the brand and used in one incarnation or another and just about every automobile produced by the company since they call it the kidney grill, and you’ve definitely seen it on your rear-view mirror at one point or another
BMW Fact 13 : Electric Spark
Due to the increase in demand for environmentally-friendly vehicles by climate change concerned consumers, BMW says that its foray into the world of electric and hybrid vehicles. It is likely to comprise a full 25% of its sales by the year 2026. This is pretty big considering that many of its cars are consumer grade rather than the high-end luxury vehicles for which they are famous for.
BMW Fact 14 : If You Build It
BMW doesn’t do anything in half measures and this is even true with their buildings. The BMW headquarters which is located in Munich Germany is itself an homage to the company’s history was built between 1968 and 1972. The towering structure is designed to imitate the four-cylinder engines which made the company great.
An adjacent building is shaped like the combustion chamber of a gas engine. These buildings are such a prominent part of the Munich skyline that the company was asked to remove the BMW branding from their buildings during the 1972 Summer Olympics to prevent the perception of product placement during television broadcast.
BMW Fact 15 : Power To The People
Finally in the list of 15 BMW facts is Power to the People. As electric cars come into prominence is what to do with the spent batteries and that’s a totally fair question. The batteries do have a finite lifespan and they contain a hazardous chemicals, which can be dangerous if they’re not disposed of properly. BMW has an idea why not take a huge pile of them and turn them into a power plant, which competes with real on the grid plants already in use.
The company has a concept to expend batteries from about 100 cars and daisy chain them together along with some other BMW technology magic and created a huge power storage facility in Hamburg Germany. The plant is capable storing a tremendous 2.8 megawatt hours of energy and could deliver a large percentage of that power to homes and businesses. This is just one concept by the company to prove that innovative thinking can go a long way.
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