75 Years of BMW Automobiles: the first BMW came from Berlin
75 years ago, on 22nd March 1929, the first BMW car rolled off the assembly line. It was a BMW 3/15 PS built in Berlin. That is one of the discoveries made by motoring historians Walter Zeichner and Rainer Simons while carrying out research for their latest book, The Development History of BMW Automobiles 1918-1932. Describing the early stages of BMW car manufacturing, it is due out in time to mark this major anniversary.
Dixi, the forerunner:
In the late 1920s, the BMW Board of Management resolved that it was time to launch into serial car production. Following various experiments and trials with prototypes built in Munich, it was decided to start off with a licensed version of an existing model: a derivative of the Austin Seven featuring a 750 cc four-cylinder engine that generated 15 horsepower.
In November 1928, BMW took over the Eisenach car factory and set about turning their Dixi into a new small car that would wear the BMW emblem. As time was pressing, modifications were limited to giving the car an all-new body. At the time, Germany was seeing the appearance of the first modern, all-steel car bodies, supplied to a number of companies by the large AMBI-BUDD production plant in Berlin. The first BMW would also receive its superstructure from this company.
22nd March 1929: the first BMW was produced in Berlin:
BMW swiftly hired a factory workshop from the Berlin body manufacturers. By March 1929, the first units of the BMW 3/15 PS DA 2 were emerging from this plant near the old Berlin-Johannisthal airfield, to be stored with BMW dealers for later distribution. It wasn't until 9th July 1929 that BMW went public with its first four-wheeler. A launch ceremony at the new BMW salesroom in the centre of Berlin and a full-page announcement in the press drew public attention to the new car.
Sporty BMW cars become milestones of motoring history:
The rest is history, as they say. The BMW 3/15 PS not only initiated the 75-year success story of car makers BMW, but thanks to its sporting successes also laid the foundation for the brand's underlying philosophy. Whenever BMW launched a sporty model, it went on to become a milestone of motoring history: 328, 700, 1800 and 2002 in association with the brand name BMW are codes that bring a gleam to the eyes of every car devotee. They would be followed by letters such as CSi, M and Z, reflecting brand values that carried the company through even the worst economic troughs to become one of the most successful and profitable car manufacturers in the world today. In 2003, the BMW Group built and sold some 1.1 million vehicles. 75 years ago - in the year of the notorious "Black Friday" that triggered the Great Depression - sales totalled 5,368 BMW cars.
Anniversary publication:
Rainer Simons and Walter Zeichner, both distinguished motoring historians and authors of numerous books, have mapped the early years of BMW's four-wheeled history. In their book The Development History of BMW Automobiles 1918-1932 they devote almost 450 pages to the fascinating era of the 1920s and '30s. During their research for the book, the two authors discovered that the first BMW car came from Berlin - a fact that had long been buried. Their richly illustrated publication, part of the "Dimension" edition of BMW Group Mobile Tradition in a high-quality presentation goes on sale in April (ISBN for the English version 3-932 169-35-2, for the german version 3-932169-36-0)
The BMW Group celebrates 75 Years of BMW Automobiles:
Highlights of this anniversary year include the "2000 Kilometres through Germany" in July, in which BMW classics of every decade celebrate the company heritage in a road show. In April, the Techno Classica in Essen presents a major exhibition that will entice hundreds of thousands of visitors into the enthralling past of the blue and white emblem.
At an international level, the first 75 years of BMW car production will also be the focus of BMW's presence at the major events of the global vintage and classic scene. Among these are the great festival of classic automotive design, the Concorso d'Eleganza at the Villa d'Este on Lake Como, at the end of April, and the more sports-oriented Festival of Speed held at the end of June next-door to the Rolls-Royce factory in Goodwood on England's South Downs
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