Bavarian Motor Works

1940 

        Made to order: for the
        Mille Miglia, BMW commissions a streamlined body made of a new,
        ultra-light aluminum/magnesium alloy

        
      		
    

  










  
    

      1941

        Production of the R 57
        Wehrmacht (military) motorcycle begins: the bolt-on frame allows
        easy dismantling of the engine

        
      		
      1942

        Resourceful: gasoline
        scarcity during the war prompts many BMW owners to mount wood-gas
        generators on the rear of their cars

        
      		
    

  










  
    

      1943BMW's
        radial engine (shown here, the 109-003) is one of the worlds first
        mass-production jet engines

        
      		
    

  








  
    

      1944

        Site of reconstruction:
        BMW begins plans to rebuild its Munich production plant		
    

  












  
    

      1945

        The first BMW bicycle with
        a lightweight aluminum frame

        
      		
    

  










  
    

      1946

        A sign of the times:
        saucepans made from the cylinders of airplane engines		
    

  








  
    

      1947
        





      

        Dismantled BMW: machinery crated and destined for 17 countries,
        much of which never reaches its destination

      

      		
    

  




  
    

      1948Geneva
        Motor Show:   since BMW is neither able, nor allowed, to manufacture
        after the war, British car companies Arlington-Fraser-Nash and Bristol
        develop licensed models based on earlier BMWs
    

  














  
    

      1949

        BMW is back again:
        presenting its first motorcycle since 1941 in New York

        
      		
      1950

        The BMW R 51/2, BMW's
        first motorcycle with a Boxer engine, goes into production		
    

  














  
    

      1951

        The six-cylinder 501,
        called the "Barock Angel", makes its debut at the Frankfurt
        Motor Show		
    

  














  
    

      1952

        Upward trend:   within three
        years, BMW's motorcycle production has risen from 10,000 to 30,000 units

        		
      1953

        Celebration: BMW's
        100,000th motorcycle, an R 67/2, comes off the assembly line		
    

  














  
    

      1954

        "Luxury cruiser"
        from the ISAR River: prototype of the BMW 502 Baur convertible with
        a new V8 light-alloy engine		
    

  














  
    

      1955

        Political interest: German
        President Theodor Heuss (left, foreground) and Economic Minister Ludwig
        Erhard (right) attend the unveiling of the 507 at the 1955 Frankfurt
        Show		
    

  






  
    

      1956Popular
        mini of the Fifties:  the Isetta signals BMW's entry into the small
        car sector; here it serves as a wedding carriage
    

  














  
    

      1957

        "Stretch" version of
        the Isetta: the BMW 600 with a Boxer engine takes a maximum of four
        passengers

        
      		
      1958

        Ernst Hiller, riding a
        BMW, wins the Austrian Grand Prix		
    

  














  
    

      1959After
        sustaining heavy financial losses, a merger with Daimler-Benz is
        planned. But Board Chairman Kurt Golda (center) convinces majority
        shareholder Herbert Quandt (left) that BMW has a future
    

  
















  
    

      1960

        A best-seller: on July 15,
        1960, the 20,000th 700 leaves the factory		
    

  
















  
    

      1961

        A new class of car: the
        1500, BMW's first sporty family sedan, in front of the Triumphal Arch in
        Munich		
    

  








  
    

      1962
        





        
        
        Developers of the 1500: 
        Hofmeister, Fiedler, Wolff, von
        Falkenhausen		
      1963

        Looking bright: statistics
        describe the boom of recent years

        
      		
    

  





 


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