Dixi-manufactured vehicles, the DA-1 3/25PS were coming off the production line. The DA designation stood for Deutsche Ausführung, meaning German Version; 3/15 indicated the taxation and actual horsepower ratings. Apart from being left-hand drive and using metric fasteners, the car was nearly identical to the Austin. Body styles available were coupé, roadster, tourer, and sedan with a few chassis going to external coachbuilders. Most cars left the factory as tourers.

Looking to move into automobile manufacturing, BMW bought the Automobilwerk Eisenach in 1928 and, with it, the rights to build the Dixi car. At first the cars were badged as BMW Dixi but the Dixi name was dropped in 1929 when the DA-1 was replaced by a slightly updated version, the BMW 3/15 DA-2.

The manufacturer looked to enter the small car market, and in 1927 agreed to a licensing agreement with the Austin Motor Company to build a variant of the Austin 7. A production level of 2000 cars a year was agreed upon, and Dixi paid Austin a royalty on each vehicle produced.

The first 100 cars were supplied as kits, but by December 1927 the first of the official Dixi-manufactured vehicles, the DA-1 3/25PS were coming off the production line.

In the late 1970s, Italian manufacturer Lamborghini entered into an agreement with BMW to build a production racing car in sufficient quantity for homologation.[1][2] The result was sold to the public, from 1978 to 1981, as the BMW M1. It was the only mid-engined BMW to be mass produced. It employed a twin-cam M88/1 3.5 L 6-cylinder gasoline engine with Kugelfischer mechanical fuel injection. A version of this motor was later used in the South African version of the BMW 745i, of which 209 examples were built between 1984 and 1986, as well as the E24 BMW M6/M635CSi and E28 BMW M5. The engine had six separate throttle butterflies, four valves per cylinder and produced 277 PS (273 hp/204 kW) in the street version, giving a top speed of 260 km/h (162 mph). Turbocharged racing versions were capable of producing around 850 hp (634 kW).

BMWs were able to outlast the Panozes, but struggled with the Audis. BMW was forced to settle for 3rd and 4th behind both Audis.

For the next two rounds, Audi attempted to perfect their R8 for Le Mans and therefore decided to race their older R8R instead. This allowed BMW to take victory at Charlotte and at the European event at Silverstone. Unfortunately in BMW’s home race at the Nürburgring in Germany, the V12 LMR was defeated by a Panoz, although it did beat out an Audi R8.

Returning to America, with Audi having taken victory at Le Mans, the V12 LMR was now forced to finish out the rest of the season fighting the dominant R8. For the next four rounds, BMW could muster no better than second against the Audi, which won every round.

For Petit Le Mans, BMW decided to bring out chassis #004, the Art Car which had only ever run at Le Mans testing in 1999. The car retained its paintjob from Jenny Holzer. Unfortunately the V12 LMRs suffered during the race, including one of the cars backflipping and flying into the side barriers, as did a Porsche 911 GT1 in the same place 2 years earlier, and the Art Car was the only V12 LMR able to finish, taking a distant 5th place.

BMW providing the engines for the WilliamsF1 team. It was therefore decided by BMW that the company would concentrate on the worldwide exposure of Formula One for the future, and that they would not return to Le Mans to attempt to follow-up on their victory. However, in order to not see the V12 LMRs go to waste, it was decided that BMW would run the full American Le Mans Series season before the cars were retired.

Starting the season at Sebring, the BMWs suddenly found themselves facing new competition, with Audi debuting their second generation R8 Le Mans prototype. The BMWs found themselves qualified in 5th and 6th, behind both the Audis as well as both Panoz LMPs. During the race, the BMWs were able to outlast the Panozes, but struggled with the Audis. BMW was forced to settle for 3rd and 4th behind both Audis.

During the race, both cars ran towards the front for the first six hours. Unfortunately, V12 LMR chassis #001 suffered a large accident, damaging the car to the point that it would never race again. However, the second V12 LMR was successful in taking the overall win.

From Sebring, the team went back to Europe in order to prepare for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In early May, at the initial test session for Le Mans, three V12 LMRs appeared. In the tradition of the famous BMW Art Cars, one of the three cars featured a paint job created by artist Jenny Holzer. Unlike at Sebring, the V12 LMRs would be facing closed cockpit prototypes which were theoretically faster over a single lap yet not as fuel efficient. Even with this apparent set back, a V12 LMR was able to take the 4th fastest lap time over the practice session, behind two Toyota GT-Ones and a Panoz prototype.

Immediately following the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans in which both BMW V12 LMs had failed to finish due to mechanical difficulties and a slow pace caused by aerodynamic inefficiencies, BMW Motorsport made the decision to radically revamp their sportscar project and quickly replace the V12 LM with a new car for 1999, the V12 LMR.

The V12 LMR would retain only the basic structures of the V12 LM, while all of the car’s bodywork was redone from scratch. The cooling ducts, a major problem on the V12 LM, were moved to the top of the car instead of from the bottom where it had suffered from ambient track heat. Among the more radical design features was the use of a small rollhoop located only behind the driver’s seat, instead of a wide rollhoop which covered the entire cockpit. This was done through using a loophole in the ACO’s Le Mans prototype regulations. This allowed for less drag as well as less obstruction for the air to the rear wing. A total of four new chassis were built by WilliamsF1 in the United Kingdom.

Internally, the V12 LMR retained the same BMW S70 6.1L V12 as the V12 LM. Also retained was Schnitzer Motorsport, who would run the team not only at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but also in the new American Le Mans Series for 1999.

Established in May 1972 with just eight employees, it grew to 400 employees by 1988, and is currently an integral part of BMW’s market presence. The first racing project was BMW’s 3.0 CSL.

After the success of BMW M in racing venues and the growing market for high performance sports cars, M introduced cars for sale to the public. The first official M-badged car for sale to the public was the M1, revealed at the Paris Motor Show in 1978. The M1, however, was more of a racecar in domestic trim than an everyday driver. The direction of the M cars changed with the 1979 release of the M535i, which was a high performance version of BMW’s popular 5 Series mid-size sedan.

Also, BMW M supplied the 6.1 liter V-12 engine that powers the McLaren F1, which, like its engine supplier and manufacturer, has enjoyed plenty of racing success, famously winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1995, the first year of competition for the GTR racing variant.

The intake valves are opened by the usual overhead valve push rod arrangement of a side cam, push rods, and rocker arms. The exhaust valves, on the other side of the cylinder head, are opened by the same cam shaft, vertical push rods, rocker arms, horizontal push rods, and a second set of rocker arms.

In 1999 the BMW 328 was named one of 25 finalists for Car of the Century by a worldwide panel of automotive journalists.

Designed by Kurt Joachimson. It featured many advanced features for its time, such as a tubular space frame and a hemispherical combustion chamber engine. It was much praised at the time for its performance and handling, proving to be suitable not only for the BMW factory drivers, but also perfect for everyday motoring.

The car won many races, including the prestigious Mille Miglia — a class win in 1938 and the outright winner (with a streamlined body) in 1940. It also won the RAC Rally in 1939 and came in fifth overall (first in its class) in the 1939 Le Mans 24 hours.

After the Second World War, the manufacturing plant in Eisenach where the 328 had been built found itself in the Russian occupation zone, and automobile manufacturing in Eisenach would follow a state directed path until German Reunification in 1989. One of the Mille Miglia 328s (disguised as a Frazer Nash) and BMW’s technical plans for the car were taken from the bombed BMW factory by English representatives from the Bristol Aeroplane Company and Frazer Nash companies. Fiedler, the BMW engineer, was persuaded to come too. Bristol Cars was set up to build complete cars, called Bristols, and would also supply engines to Frazer Nash for all their post-war cars. The first Bristol car, the 400, was heavily based on the BMW plans. This Bristol engine was also a common option in AC cars, before the Cobra.

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