Indy 500 Carb Day Practice To Franchitti; Dixon Takes IZOD Pit...

Volkswagen Golf R Cabrio Patent Photos Revealed

2013 Cadillac XTS Configurator Launched
BMW Zagato Coupe Unveiled At Villa d'Este

New Firestone Indy Lights Formula For 2014

Lotus F1 Tells Raikkonen, 'No Rally!'
Lotus CEO Dany Bahar Suspended For 'Conduct'

2013 Cadillac XTS: First Drive

Eric Clapton's Custom Ferrari SP12 EC Officially Unveiled

Video: History Of The BMW Logo

Viknesh Vijayenthiran

Editor BIO

Vik is an Editor at High Gear Media and contributor for a number of sites within the High Gear Media network. He was a co-founder of... More

LATEST ARTICLE
2012 Renault Alpine A110-50 Concept Debuts: Video
After years of speculation, Renault has finally revived its Alpine performance branding, which has... Read More

#1LEADERBOARD RANK
7398ARTICLES CONTRIBUTED
82COMMENTS POSTED

2,878 views Jun 8, 2010

Follow Viknesh

Add to circle

History of the BMW logo

Enlarge Photo

While most people think BMW’s logo is a representation of a spinning propeller, an understandable mistake given the automaker’s roots in aircraft engine manufacturing, the truth actually lies elsewhere.

The first time the logo was used on a vehicle was actually on a motorbike, the R32 model of 1923. However, the first recorded use of the logo was in fact on a service manual printed in 1918. The first depiction of the logo as the spinning blades of an aircraft, meanwhile, wasn’t until 1929.

That is because the logo was actually derived from another logo used by Rapp Motorenwerke, an aircraft engine manufacturer that eventually became BMW. The blue and white coloring, meanwhile, came from the official colors of the State of Bavaria where BMW is based.

Watch the video below for a more detailed description.