BMW People

Early in 1917, chartered engineer Max Friz joins Rapp as an aircraft engine constructor. His creation, the BMW high-altitude carburettor, enables the company to claim its first world record in 1919. He builds the first BMW motorcycle, the R 32, in 1923. Friz also occupies the position as director of the Eisenach aircraft engine plant.

The Austrian chartered engineer and lieutenant Franz Josef Popp joins Rapp- Motorenwerke to oversee the quality of aircraft engines. In 1917 he is appointed as the first head of BMW GmbH and then made general director the following year. He presides over BMW's rise from a national brand to a company of European standing, until forced to resign by the Nazi authorities in 1942.

From 1923 onwards, Rudolf Schleicher is an engine designer and motorcycle racer at BMW. In 1924 he developed the first light-alloy cylinder head for the R 27: its overhead valve train is both oil- and dust-proof. Schleicher later assumes responsibility for the development of engines for standard-production cars and racing models.

Having set the first absolute world speed record for BMW, Ernst Henne goes on to reach even faster speeds, competing for successive records with British and Italian drivers. Set on 27th November 1937, his record of 279.5 km/h remains unbroken for twelve years. Just as capable on four wheels, he wins the Eifelrennen in 1936 - his car is a two-litre BMW 328.

Alexander von Falkenhausen, a motorcycle design engineer at BMW from the mid-Thirties on, founds the motorsport brand AFM after WWII. Upon his return to BMW, he develops the engine of the New Class, unveiled in 1962. Later, as head of BMW engine development, he is the man behind BMW engine's legendary successes in the world of Formula Two racing.

Eberhard von Kuenheim is head of the BMW board of directors from 1970 until 1993. During this time, turnover increases 18-fold, car production quadruples and motorcycle production triples. In 1993 he took a seat in the BMW supervisory board, a committee he heads until the end of the Nineties. After stepping down from this position, he channels his energy into the Eberhard von Kuenheim Foundation.

BMW design engineer Paul Rosche, long-time head of engines at BMW Motorsport, does more in the Seventies than just create the engine of the BMW M1. His masterpiece is unveiled in 1983: the 16-valve F1 engine with a turbocharger and intercooler. With its 1,000 hp, 10,500 rpm and 2.8 bar boost, it secures the Formula One world title for the company without further ado.