Bmw's the History
Bavarian Motor Works
By: Tyler Clark
Bavarian Motor Works or as most people know it (BMW) is one of the most prestigious automobile manufacturers in the world. But they didn’t get there reputation from most models, in fact it was the cars from the last two decades that BMW really got known for their automobiles. the history of the marque stretches back almost 90 years and contains numerous achievements that have established it as a benchmark. The origins of BMW trace back to 1913 when Karl Friedrich Rapp, a Bavarian who had been a well-known engineer in a German aircraft company. The company specialized in airplane engines however Rapp found that they were problematic and suffered from excessive vibration. Nearby, Gustav Otto, also an airplane specialist, set up his own shop, Gustav Flugmaschine Fabrik, building small aircraft. Because of the faulty engines, Rapp Motorenwerke secured a contract with Austro-Daimler, who was unable to meet its demands, to build V12 Aero engines under license. The company expanded too quickly, however, and by 1916 Rapp resigned from the company because of financial troubles. In his place Franz Josef Popp and Max Friz, two Austrians, took over the company. In March that same year, Rapp Motorenwerke merged with Gustav Flugmaschine Fabric to form Bayerische Flugzeugwerke. It was shortly afterwards renamed Bayerische Motoren Werke (Bavarian Motor Works), or BMW, forming the company we know today.
In 1917, BMW's first aircraft engine went into production, the 6 cylinder Type IIIa. In 1919, using an aircraft powered by its successor, the Type IV, Franz Zeno Diemer set an altitude record of 9,760 meters (32,013 ft). After the Treaty of Versailles was signed in the same year, prohibiting BMW from building aircraft engines, production switched to air brakes for railway cars. When BMW started once again to build aircraft engines in 1922, no fewer than 29 world records in aviation were set with them. The current BMW logo,
By: Tyler Clark
Bavarian Motor Works or as most people know it (BMW) is one of the most prestigious automobile manufacturers in the world. But they didn’t get there reputation from most models, in fact it was the cars from the last two decades that BMW really got known for their automobiles. the history of the marque stretches back almost 90 years and contains numerous achievements that have established it as a benchmark. The origins of BMW trace back to 1913 when Karl Friedrich Rapp, a Bavarian who had been a well-known engineer in a German aircraft company. The company specialized in airplane engines however Rapp found that they were problematic and suffered from excessive vibration. Nearby, Gustav Otto, also an airplane specialist, set up his own shop, Gustav Flugmaschine Fabrik, building small aircraft. Because of the faulty engines, Rapp Motorenwerke secured a contract with Austro-Daimler, who was unable to meet its demands, to build V12 Aero engines under license. The company expanded too quickly, however, and by 1916 Rapp resigned from the company because of financial troubles. In his place Franz Josef Popp and Max Friz, two Austrians, took over the company. In March that same year, Rapp Motorenwerke merged with Gustav Flugmaschine Fabric to form Bayerische Flugzeugwerke. It was shortly afterwards renamed Bayerische Motoren Werke (Bavarian Motor Works), or BMW, forming the company we know today.
In 1917, BMW's first aircraft engine went into production, the 6 cylinder Type IIIa. In 1919, using an aircraft powered by its successor, the Type IV, Franz Zeno Diemer set an altitude record of 9,760 meters (32,013 ft). After the Treaty of Versailles was signed in the same year, prohibiting BMW from building aircraft engines, production switched to air brakes for railway cars. When BMW started once again to build aircraft engines in 1922, no fewer than 29 world records in aviation were set with them. The current BMW logo,