What does the BMW logo mean? Do you know the BMW full form? What does BMW stand for? The BMW logo comes from the aviation industry. It is a brand founded in 1916 and this is the story that contains its symbol and its two characteristic kidneys on the front grill. From the air to the ground with two and four wheels, the tradition continues.
BMW full form and history of its logo
The full meaning of the word “BMW” is Bayerische Motoren Werke in German language and Bavarian Motor Works in English. The user of the brand feels like a premium car owner. There is a Significant meaning of the logo which we describe below. Read more: how to lower car insurance rates
At this point, we do not discover the powder if we unmask what is hidden behind the letters of BMW. They are simply the acrostic of Bayerische Motoren Werke (Bavarian Motor Factory), simple and very descriptive. With only three letters we know almost everything about this company that is now known for its luxury sports cars. It started like that, an engine factory. The cars came later and the luxury and sportsmanship, later still.
How the company raised?
The BMW foundation is not very clear. Some authors gave the date of 1913 as valid when Karl Rapp founded the Rapp Motorenwerke to change the name of his company name to BMW in 1917. For others, it is the second valid date.
In any case, the history of BMW as a car manufacturer is similar to that of other pioneers of mechanics and it is because the wars are over. Like Bentley, BMW began its industrial journey as a manufacturer of aircraft engines and World War I reported significant benefits but also forced significant investments in machinery and infrastructure to meet demand during the contest.
With the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, BMW is left without its source of income to not be able to build war material. It was necessary to give a utility to all that industry. This causes some financial problems and leaks of its managers, who seek refuge in other companies, taking with them the rights of the BMW brand. Although the future does not present anything rosy for a company specialized in manufacturing aircraft engines. Luckily, the company has a brilliant engineer among its ranks: Max Friz.
This genius of mechanics knew how to take advantage of the experience acquired by manufacturing aircraft engines. The young Max Friz designed an engine with two horizontal cylinders to mount in a double cradle chassis. This mechanical configuration allowed an easy cooling of the mechanics with the air of the march and a low center of gravity. In 1923 the BMW R32 was presented and the foundations of a new productive branch for BMW are laid.
Productions
The production of cars would not begin until 1928 when BMW buys the company «Automobilwerk Eisenach», which manufactured the Austin Dixi under license. Following this agreement, little Austin begins to be manufactured and sold as BMW 3/15. As a curiosity, after World War II, it would happen. On the contrary, a British company would produce BMW cars with another brand, specifically the Bristol 400 and 401, clones of the BMW 328 and 326.
Now that we know the origins of the brand, we can already understand why most claims that the BMW logo symbolizes the propeller of an airplane spinning at full speed, but such a statement is false.
The logo we currently know about BMW dates from 1917 and represents the colors of the flag of Bavaria, the German state where the company was based. This flag is composed of several white and blue rhombuses.
The confusion about the origin of the BMW logo occurs when in 1929 the company presents an advertising poster with two flying biplanes and its moving propellers form the BMW logo and BMW full form.
Although today everyone assumes that BMW is a brand of large luxury cars and high performance, the truth is that they have come there starting from the humblest.
The first car of BMW
Their first 4-wheeled vehicle was the BMW Dixi. It was a very basic utility with tires slightly larger than those of a current mountain bike and ridiculous performance from a driver today. The outbreak of World War II again focused the company’s efforts on the production of war material.
After the contest, BMW had to reinvent itself. On the one hand, he continued to manufacture the prewar cars, but the Europeans were not for too many luxuries and the sales were appalling. Salvation came from Italy with one of the most original, bold and friendly cars in history: the Isetta, designed and manufactured by the Iso company.
This peculiar egg-shaped car with a single front door was a revolution and its sales returned to give wings to the Munich company. It came to develop the original model increasing its size and providing it with an additional door on the side and 4 seats.
The high-performance and luxury models such as the BMW 502 and 503 or the beautiful 507 roadsters were a commercial failure. Until the arrival of the BMW 1602 and 2002, BMW did not have in its catalog a really serious car that worked well commercially.
The situation today is just the opposite. BMW full form means the world’s largest manufacturer of luxury cars and among its brands is the luxury car with capital letters. They all owe it to a simple car designed in Italy: without the benefits reported by the sales of Isetta, it is very likely that BMW had not reached to this day.