Conversation starters for BMW enthusiasts. Throughout its history (➜ Read also: The BMW name and its history), BMW has developed iconic car models and groundbreaking innovations – and can look back on major milestones in developments, design, motorsport, exclusive editions, and timeless architecture. Test your knowledge. Did you know all these facts and curiosities about BMW?
Did you know that…
…the floors in the BMW headquarters are suspended?
This avant-garde building (➜ Read also: Four cylinders, five decades of modernity), designed by Viennese architect Prof Karl Schwanzer, was built using an innovative lifting method. The construction was based on an unconventional idea: horizontal struts at the core of the building acted as fixed points with around 100 steel rods attached to each cylinder. This support system made it possible to pull the storeys, which had previously been cast in concrete on the ground, upwards. Thanks to this innovative construction method, the building was completed in a record 22 months – just in time for the 1972 Munich Olympics.




…the model designations at BMW follow a certain logic?
With the introduction of the first 5 Series in 1972, a new self-explanatory nomenclature (➜ Read also: BMW explained) was also developed. This consisted of three digits: the first indicated the model series, and the second and third denoted the motorisation. It was originally based directly on the engine capacity – 318 stood for the BMW 3 Series with 1800 cc. Additional designations soon followed: “i” for injection, “x” for all-wheel drive, and “L” for long-wheelbase versions. Although there were only four model series in 1972, the specification of the numbers 3, 5, 6 and 7 provided “room for manoeuvre upwards and downwards”. At the end of the 1970s, the prefix “M” was introduced for motorsport vehicles. A decade later, "Z” was introduced for roadsters. The upper-case “X” was introduced with the first Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV), the BMW X5 whilst the “i” marked the beginning of the electric era of BMW.



…the Isetta is the only BMW car with a name?
Since the first model, the BMW 3/15 PS, BMW automobiles were essentially “nameless”. The type designations consisted of numbers, which were often supplemented by letters. However, the BMW Isetta is a notable exception (➜ Read also: BMW Isetta: the history of a saviour, icon, and everyday hero). Background: The name was taken from the Italian company ISO, which originally developed the vehicle. BMW acquired the licence, changed the drive, and later the design. However, it kept the original female name – perhaps because it perfectly matched the longing for dolce vita in the 1950s.

…the BMW Turbo from 1972 was a pioneer for driver assistance systems?
BMW presented the BMW Turbo as a concept car (➜ Read also: The BMW concept cars you need to know) and rolling test laboratory for pioneering technologies in 1972, the year of the Olympics. Designed by BMW Head of Styling Paul Bracq, the extremely flat sports car had self-regenerating crumple zones, safety steering, bumper strips all round, and an eye-catching illuminated paint finish. The BMW Turbo also alerted drivers of potential dangers. For example, it featured a radar-based braking distance device to indicate when the safety distance had been exceeded or by means of pressure indicators for the first and second brake circuits as well as warning indicators for brake fluid and brake wear. Only two prototypes with similar specifications were built in 1972/73.




…the engine block in the 1983 Formula 1 car came from a normal BMW 3 Series?
For the four-cylinder engine in Nelson Piquet’s Formula 1 car, BMW drew on tried-and-tested technology from previous racing series. The engine block came from series production and was used in the “Neue Klasse”. In 1983, the year BMW won the world championship, it also powered numerous BMW 3 Series models (➜ Read also: The seven generations of the BWM 3 series). The block was made of grey cast iron. At the beginning, it was important that the engine blocks had already run for around 100,000 km in order to reduce material stresses. BMW later perfected the process through artificial ageing.



…BMW was testing hydrogen as a drive system as early as 1979?
In 1979, BMW and the German Aerospace Research Centre (DFVLR, now DLR) developed the first hydrogen test vehicle based on a BMW 520/4 (built in 1975). From the outside, the car looked nearly identical to its petrol-powered versions. But instead of petrol, its four-cylinder engine ran on hydrogen . This experiment proved early on that hydrogen in the combustion engine is technically feasible – and thus laid the foundation for hydrogen as a drive alternative of the future (➜ Read also: Pioneering spirit for the mobility of the future).

…the roof of BMW Welt is large enough to span Piazza San Marco in Venice?
With an area of over 14,000 square metres, the roof of BMW Welt could easily cover the famous Piazza San Marco. The 269-metre-long bridge at BMW Welt is the longest self-supporting bridge in Bavaria. Over 1,000 tons of steel and more than 900 glass elements – each of them unique – were installed in the striking double cone.


…electromobility was rethought at BMW back in 2007 with “Project i”?
At BWM, innovations in electromobility date back to 1972 (1602 Electric) and 1991 with the BMW E1 (specially developed for pure electric drive). The special thing about “Project i” was that it gave the project team the freedom to rethink mobility and break away from existing structures. The BMW i3 was based largely on the findings of the project launched in 2007 and was the first and only fully electric series-production vehicle of the BMW Group when it was launched in 2013. A central focus during development was also on maximising sustainability throughout the entire value chain.



…special models in small numbers are part of the BMW tradition?
After the BMW 3.0 CSL from 2022, the anniversary year, the BMW Skytop (➜ Read also: BMW Skytop: the magic of exclusive moments) follows as an exclusive special model in limited numbers. Creating automotive dreams in small series is a hallmark of BMW – as demonstrated by models such as the M3 European Champion Edition (1988), the M3 CSL (2002), the limited special edition BMW Individual 7 Series Composition inspired by Steinway & Sons (2010), or the BMW 760i Sterling (a cooperation between BMW Individual and ROBBE & BERKING, 2013).

…the 1994 BMW 7 Series was the first to feature buttons directly on the steering wheel?
As is so often the case, motorsport acted as a driver of innovation. In the late 1980s, the first Formula 1 steering wheels were available with controls that offered the driver adjustment options. So what could be more intuitive than letting BMW drivers control key functions directly from the steering wheel? The first was the 1994 BMW 7 Series, which allowed drivers to control the hi-fi volume, audio source, and cruise control directly from the steering wheel.


Author: BMW; Art Direction: Verena Aichinger, Madita O'Sullivan; Photos: BMW