BMW had continued to make aeroplane engines, meanwhile, and in 1939 it acquired the Siemens subsidiary Brandenburg Motor Works, another engine manufacturer based in Spandau. With the outbreak of war, the company stopped mass car production in order to meet demand for engines for the Luftwaffe, though production continued for export and for war use; by 1945, the engine plants at Munich, Eisennach and Berlin had made tens of thousands of aeroplane engines, including the 003 jet engine.
Car development did not stop completely, however, during the war. The design department continued to work on new ideas, some featuring American-style radiators, some with new versions of the twin-kidney grilles already used by the firm, and one full-sized clay model was made, the pontoon-bodied 385. This futuristic design was BMW's most aerodynamic yet, and a prototype was constructed, but the National Socialist Party vetoed further work on the project.
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| 502: pricey, but boasted all-new aluminium alloy engine |
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In the days before Germany's surrender to the Allied forces, the remaining BMW staff fought against destruction and looting, and kept the business afloat with repair work. On the 2nd October 1945, the US army seized the company's assets and declared it subject to reparations. Production ceased, machines and equipment were dismantled and the board of management forced to resign. The Spandau engine plant was destroyed, and the Eisenach factory, now in a Soviet-controlled region, was expropriated. BMW finished 1945 20m marks in debt.
The company was effectively frozen until 1948, when the US authorities finally lifted its production ban and allowed BMW to start making a new motorbike. The single-cylinder R24 restored the firm's fortunes, and enabled it to invest in a further programme of development. The first new car to emerge was the 501, presented at the 1951 Frankfurt Motor Show. Dubbed the "baroque angel" for its dramatic curves, it was acclaimed for its responsive chassis, innovative transmission layout and smooth six-cylinder, 65bhp engine. Eight-cylinder versions with a revolutionary aluminium alloy lightweight engine, badged 502, followed - "probably the finest example of engineering excellence ever seen, be it in Europe or in the US," according to Motor-Revue magazine.
