100 years of BMW
The Bavarian car manufacturer sees its future in electromobility.
The most spectacular four-cylinder achievement that the company ever built is perhaps BMW’s company headquarters in Munich. The landmark construction, which was completed in 1973 close to the city’s Olympic Park, was declared a protected historic building at the turn of the century. In 2013, this building, designed by the Viennese architect Karl Schwanzer, was also voted one of the world’s 15 most spectacular company head offices. Today the building is almost as well-known as Munich’s Frauenkirche, and almost half a million people visit the company’s own museum each year.
The cute little Isetta
Visitors to the museum are eager to discover the legend that lies behind the slogan of the Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) ‘the joy of driving’: a gleaming world of chrome, paintwork, horsepower, modern electromobility and historical milestones. A prime example is the Isetta of 1955 which is regarded as one of the most original cars ever to be built by a German manufacturer. The steering wheel also swings outwards together with the front-opening door. People nicknamed it a bubble car for lovers, because it provided just enough room for a couple snuggled close together. The 130 museum exhibits also include a BMW 507, one of which the fast car fan Elvis Presley once took back to America with him as a souvenir of his time in Germany. Then there is the Baroque Angel, the V8-powered BMW 502 with its smooth sweeping body. At the BMW Welt visitors can be taken on a trial run in an Isetta by company staff. They can also ride as a front-seat passenger in a brand-new BMW i3 to test the feeling of more environmentally friendly electromobility. BMW sees the future in this form of car technology. The company is aiming to put an electro limousine and an electro SUV with a range of 500 kilometres on the market by 2020.
The German car manufacturer, which began with aircraft engines and motorbikes, now produces 1.7 million vehicles a year. Meanwhile, the ‘family’ also includes Mini and Rolls Royce. At the Geneva International Motor Show at the beginning of March, BMW will be demonstrating what the brand stands for: first-class design and digitalised sophistication in the shape of the 760 Li, which has a 600 horsepower engine, reaches 100 kph in 3.9 seconds and with a special package travels at more than 300 kph.
