DRIVERS have been stunned to learn the historical hidden meaning behind BMW’s iconic logo.
The symbol is a nod to the brand’s origins and, oddly, has nothing to do with cars.
GettyThe true meaning behind the BMW logo has been revealed[/caption]
The badge, made up of a blue-and-white quarter check design enclosed within a black circle bearing the manufacturer’s initials, is known the world over for adorning the front end of some of the best cars out there.
The BMW name has, over the years, become a byword for reliability, power and motoring style.
However, the history behind the giant company sees its roots in a quite different industry.
What is now Bayerische Motoren Werke (which translates to Bavarian Motor Works) started out over 100 years ago.
Its forefather was the Otto Flugmanshinfabrik, an aircraft manufacturing firm founded by Gustav Otto in what was then the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1910.
The company was a pioneer in the research and development of early aircraft.
However, after Bavaria was absorbed into the German state in 1919 (after a brief stint as a socialist republic), the company was reorganised, taking on the BMW name in 1922.
It then opened its now world-famous car and motorcycle divisions in 1923, around the same time it stopped making planes.
Nonetheless, the modern BMW logo still honours the company’s aeronautical lineage.
The famous blue-and-white check pattern represents a spinning propellor of the sort that was found on early planes.
According to the Small Business Blog: “The BMW logo features four quadrants in blue and white, representing a spinning aircraft propeller against the blue sky, paying homage to the brand’s origins as an aircraft engine manufacturer.”
The brand itself refers to this interpretation as being based on an “urban myth“, but adds that it cannot be discounted even if it wasn’t the original intention.
Fred Jakobs, archive director for BMW, said: “For a long time, BMW made little effort to correct the myth that the BMW badge is a propeller.
“This interpretation has been commonplace for 90 years, so in the meantime, it has acquired a certain justification.”
Indeed, BMW released a range of promotional material in the 1940s and 50s that represented the symbol as a propellor or superimposed it onto one.
However, the logo also has a second meaning that is more officially recognised by the brand, with the pattern also incorporating the colours of the Bavarian flag.
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