BMW
About BMW
The old and successful BMW is nearing its centennial anniversary. It has established itself as a automobile, motorcycle, and engine manufacturer over the years. For those that don’t know what BMW stands for, it means Bayerische Motoren Werke, or Bavarian Motor Works in English.
The War and BMW
A little known fact about BMW is that it was heavily involved in both World War I and II. It was more recognized back then, not as a luxury car or motorcycle manufacturer, but as an aircraft engine manufacturer.
During World War I, under the name Rapp Motorenwerke, it created V12 Aero engines. With a lot of development and hiring people, the world renowned BMW IIIa is born. This aero engine was the stepping stone of the success of BMW. In 1917, Karl Rap, founder of Rapp Motorenwerke, stepped down, and the company was restructured as we know now as BMW.
At the time of World War II, the German Nazi’s required the company to support the war effort. It meant creating aero engines for fighter planes and the stoppage of non-military motorcycles in favor of the R12 and R75 military sidecar outfit. A few years later, motorcycle and automotive production has ceased, retaining only their automotive repair facilities.
The war tolled a lot from BMW. The bombings and attacks of the Allied forces reduced most of their factories to rubble. The end of the war wasn’t as merciful either. The Allies forbade BMW to produce motor vehicles up to 1947. BMW returned production and started rolling the R24 motorcycle in 1958 and the BMW 501 and 502 series in 1954.
As One of the World’s Top Selling Luxury Car Manufacturers
After the war and the crisis, BMW has now established itself as one of the top selling luxury car manufacturers in the world. This is thanks to the economic car boom of the late 1950’s and the Iso Isetta. In 2012, the BMW group, which includes Mini and Rolls-Royce, sold at least 1,800,000 motor vehicles and at least 117,000 motorcycles.
The Limited Edition
The success of BMW gave way to a series of luxury cars of limited production. Only a selected few are allowed to own such a luxury sports car. With only 100 cars in production, the BMW X6 M Design Edition is a dream car for wealthy car collectors.
The BMW X6 M Design Edition has a full Merino leather upholstery, giving the sports car a luxurious and sporty interior design. The engine should not be ignored. The TwinPower Turbo 8-cylinder petrol engine has a 555 bhp output that can propel the X6 M from 0-100 km/h in just 4.7 seconds.
The exterior separates itself visually from the regular BMW X6 series. The X6 M has double spoke, 21-inch M Performance light alloy wheels, carbon front splitter, carbon rear spoiler, black kidney grilles, mirror caps in the front view, and a black rear diffuser.