Here are 24 Interesting BMW facts.
1-5 BMW Facts
1. The engine on the BMW M5 is so quiet that the company plays fake engine noises through the speakers to “remind” drivers of their car’s performance. – Source
2. The step-grandchildren of Joseph Goebbels control 46% of BMW. – Source
3. BMW had to recall their GPS system because male German drivers refused to take directions from a female voice. – Source
4. When Andy Warhol was commissioned by BMW to paint the supercar M1 for the BMW Art Car Project, he turned down the scale practice model, painted immediately onto the full size vehicle, and finished in 24 minutes. – Source
5. In 2001, BMW released a series of short films called “The Hire” that featured famous filmmakers, starred Clive Owen as the “Driver”, and highlighted the performance aspects of BMW cars. It was a huge success and helped increase car sales 12% over the previous year. – Source
6-10 BMW Facts
6. Hackers worked out how to open BMW car doors via SMS by reverse engineering their assistive technology. – Source
7. BMW used to offer Flame Throwers on their cars to stop carjacking in South Africa. – Source
8. A self-driving BMW can also drift. It is equally as good as a professional drift driver. – Source
9. A California man sued BMW for giving him an erection. – Source
10. The BMW M3 gets more MPG than a Toyota Prius when going 100 MPH. – Source
11-15 BMW Facts
11. BMW built a concept car that could change its shape. The movable frame is controlled by actuators, which stretch the water-resistant spandex shell, either automatically depending on driving conditions, or at the driver’s command. – Source
12. Owners of BMW i3s have increased their fuel tank capacity with a software hack. The tank was electronically limited to meet an emissions loophole. – Source
13. BMW once paid to name a cold snap weather event after its Mini Cooper car as a promo stunt. The stunt went sour after the snap killed 112 people in Eastern Europe. – Source
14. In the 80’s BMW made a 1.5L 4 cylinder that produced 1,100 HP; they later boosted it to 2 and then 2.5 liters and made 1,400 HP. – Source
15. BMW’s manufacturing facility in Spartanburg, SC, which manufactures the X3, X5, and X6 sport utility vehicles, was the fastest factory start-up in automotive history and BMW’s first full facility outside Germany. – Source
16-20 BMW Facts
16. When BMW sold its 3.0CSL sports car in the 1970s, the car’s spoiler was left in the trunk for installation by the owner after purchase because boot spoilers were illegal in Germany at the time. – Source
17. BMW sells armored versions of their vehicles. – Source
18. Bimmer and Beamer are two different slang terms, one for BMW cars and the other for BMW motorcycles. – Source
19. BMW has developed a combination gasoline & steam engine and called it; The Turbosteamer. – Source
20. The car that Steve Urkel drove on Family Matters was actually a real BMW model called the Isetta. – Source
21-24 BMW Facts
21. The BMW logo is an airplane propeller because they originally produced airplane engines. – Source
22. BMW created their own skateboard with parts from a BMW 5 series car. – Source
23. The remote-controlled BMW in “James Bond – Tomorrow Never Dies” was actually driven by a guy sitting in the lowered back seat who even had control over all the installed gadgets. – Source
24. BMW i8 only has three cylinders. – Source
A couple of corrections:
1. The 3.0CSL had the spoiler in the boot because the race that BMW wanted to enter it into meant that they had to sell the car with the spoiler so that they could use it in the race (homologation rules) but they couldn’t sell the road car with the spoiler, hence why it was in the boot in the first place.
2. The logo is actually from the flag of Bavaria where BMW originated, not the aeroplane propellers which is an entirely made up fact. It is similar to the Porsche logo which uses the flag of Stuttgart where they originated.
reasonable editing