It was in 1928 that the firm began to manufacture cars, with its first model being the Astin Seven. In 1929, BMW made headlines when Ernst Henne reached a top speed of 134.56mph on its 750cc motorbike.
The ’30s saw the introduction of BMW’s 303 saloon, which boasted the first BMW six-cylinder engine, as well as the legendary BMW 328 which launched in 1936, revolutionising the 2.0-litre sports car. Throughout the decade the brand grew to extend not only its range of production vehicles, but also its series of motor sporting wins.
In 1962 the all-new BMW 1500 repositioned BMW as a manufacturer of the best quality sport saloons. The decade charted a number of successes for the company with the production of the 1500 and 1600 series, a range of new sedans and the 2.5CS and 2800 CS coupé models. Continued racing success came in the form of Dieter Quester, with big wins in the Formula Two series. In 1973, BMW won the European Touring Car Championship and European Championship for F2 cars.
New plants opened throughout the ’70s, bringing ever larger-scale production, with the brand creating one of the pioneering turbo engines used in mass-production. BMW soon entered F1 racing, winning the 1983 Formula One World Championship.
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