Set in a sleek steel and glass building the BMW Museum in Munich is one of three buildings that showcase the innovative technology and design that make BMW one of the top automotive brands in the world.
Just how did BMW come up with their iconic blue and white logo? My good friend Darby explains.
The BMW Dixi was the first car produced with a BMW badge. Originally licensed from the Austin Motor Company by the German firm of Automobilwerk Eisenach, BMW bought the firm along with the Dixi license in 1928. Powered by a 747cc motor that produced 15bhp, the Dixi was capable of a top speed of 70km/h.
BMW Dixi
The iconic BMW 2002 was part of BMW’s Neue Klasse line of compact sedans and coupes that cemented the auto makers brand image as a manufacturer of high end sports cars.
BMW 2002
The BMW 3.0 CSL was the first car created by the newly formed BMW Motorsport division. Nicknamed the Batmobile due to it’s large fins and spoilers the CSL was powered by a 3.0L 6 cylinder motor producing over 300bhp. The BMW 3.0 CSL was very successful in racing and helped establish BMW’s status as a sporty driver’s car, with success in European Touring Car Championship and the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft.
BMW CSL 3.0
Known as the “flying brick” because of its boxy styling the BMW 320 Turbo was BMW entry into Group 5 racing and was powered by a inline 4-cylinder turbocharged motor producing anywhere from 300bhp – 650bhp.
BMW 320 Turbo
Keeping with their tradition of manufacturing lightweight, compact and powerful cars BMW released the E30 M3 in 1986. Powered by a 2.3L 4-cylinder engine that in street trim produced 200bhp, the E30 M3 would go on to become one of the greatest success stories in the automotive world.
BMW E30 M3
Unlike its later cousins, the original E30 M3 was designed from day one to be a race car. The original production run of 5000 cars allowed BMW to compete in the Group A Touring Car series and with more than 1500 single victories, 60 national championships in street and hillclimb races as well as in rally sport, plus seven European hillclimb championships, five Mitropa Rally Cup wins and eight victories in the 24-hour races at the Nürburgring and at Spa make the BMW M3 the world’s most successful touring car.
BMW E30 M3 DTM Race Car
Up until the early nineties BMW was known for producing small displacement motors that cranked out astonishing amount of horsepower. Their ideaology at the time was that a lightweight motor inside a lightweight chassis produced the best results. Unfortunately in more recent times BMW has succumbed to the “bigger is better” mentality but is a larger motor always the most powerful? Let’s ask Darby.
BMW M Power.
BMW M Power
This is what the BMW M division used to work on.
I’ve concentrated a lot in this article on the Motorsports division but the BMW Museum covers their entire range of cars. From the humble Dixi to the ultra luxury 7-series the museum has an extensive display on each model. In keeping with the high tech brand that is BMW there are both motion and touch sensitive areas throughout the entire museum. Stand in front of a specific car and suddenly a speaker will come to life above you explains the history of the car. And as you’ve seen in the first video the touch sensitive tables allows you to actually get a hands on look at the history of BMW.
Web: www.bmw-museum.com
Hours:
- Monday: Closed
- Tuesday – Friday: 09:00 – 18:00
- Saturday, Sunday: 10:00 – 20:00
Admission: €12.00
July 25, 2009
Museums