What started as an aircraft engine producer nearly a century ago has evolved through the years. In the 1920s, we started manufacturing motorcycles. In 1952, the first BMW cars were built in Munich, including the BMW Isetta and the BMW 1500.
And then, in the late ’60s, an unassuming little automobile made its U.S. debut that forever changed driving: the BMW 2002. Light, fuel-efficient, and agile like a sports car, it also had four comfortable seats and legroom. The 2002 embodied for Americans an entirely new concept: the sports sedan. And it laid down track that BMW has been running on ever since.
A little less than a decade after the BMW 2002 was introduced to the U.S., a new vehicle of performance and practicality was born, the BMW 3 Series. While the 3 Series remains the benchmark agianst which all other sedans are measured today, we have continued expanding our models. And, in true BMW fashion, turning traditional aesthetics upside down.
In 1996, the BMW Z3 was introduced, the predecessor of today’s sculptural Z4 roadster. In 1999, we launched a whole new vehicle category with our X5: the Sports Activity Vehicle. And most recently, we’ve introduced the BMW 335i Coupe, the most powerful 3 Series Coupe. Ever.
Because we’ve always been unwilling to compromise, we’ve managed to build vehicles that thrill drivers. We have the autonomy to stand behind the leading-edge concepts of our designers and engineers. As an independent company, we make sure great ideas live on to become ultimate driving machines.
At BMW, we believe that history and compromise cannot be made at the same time. This unflinching philosophy is what enables us to create cars that have pushed boundaries and become icons through the decades.
At a staggering 17.5 miles with an impossible 33 left and 40 right turns, the Nuerburgring is the most difficult racetrack in the world. In fact, they say 100 laps on the Nuerburgring simulate the entire life of a vehicle. That’s why every BMW faces the ‘Ring, and our newest Sport Activity Vehicle® is no exception
The little car that changed driving forever.
In the late 1960s, performance car enthusiasts in the U.S. had limited options. There were small 2-seater sports cars like the British MG. And there were Detroit-made muscle cars with big V-8 engines offering a lot of power, but little else. Few Americans had ever heard the name BMW.
Then in 1968, an article appeared in Car & Driver magazine, raving about an unassuming little automobile: the BMW 2002. This was a car Americans had never seen. It accelerated like a muscle car, but it was light and fuel-efficient. It was agile like a sports car, but it had four quite comfortable seats and legroom. The 2002 embodied for Americans an entirely new concept: the sports sedan. And it laid down track that BMW has been running on ever since.
The success of the 2002 led to the founding of BMW North America in 1975. And shortly thereafter a new model was introduced that furthered this concept of performance and practicality – the BMW 3 Series. This new model was a direct descendant of the 2002. Models have expanded upwards and outwards – but for BMW, the 3 Series remains the defining car and the benchmark against which all future designs will be judged.
Category: Autos | Tags: None
Related Posts
- No related posts found.
