When you buy through the buttons on this page, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more >

BMW Car Books - History and Models

A book on BMW cars? Explore here illustrated books on the history, types and construction of BMW cars.

BMW Century (2nd Edition)

Established in 1916, BMW is one of the automotive and motorcycle industry's oldest and most-respected manufacturers. Over the past 100-plus years, the company has passed through myriad incarnations. The BMW Century chronicles this remarkable transportation story through the cars and motorcycles manufactured, from the 1923 R32 motorcycle to today's sleek electric, hybrid, and high-performance cars.

"The BMW Century" showcases how the company's visionary team systematically rebuilt BMW in the post-World War II years into the spectacular success we know today - a company with sales in excess of two million cars annually, led by its top-selling 3-series.

BMW's motorcycle division is no less legendary. It began with the 1923 avant-garde R32, which featured a 180-degree, horizontally opposed twin, the engine configuration that would become BMW's hallmark.
Over the decades, BMW used that configuration to power groundbreaking machines like the R90 S, R100 RS, and R80 GS. Beginning in 1983, the company added add three- and four-cylinder machines to their offerings, culminating in today's spectacular S1000 RR sport bike.

From the pre-war motorcycles to the iconic R-series twins of the 1970s and '80s to the mighty M-cars and superbikes of today, The BMW Century offers a full review of German engineering at its zenith. The book is illustrated generously with hundreds of historic, contemporary, and racing photographs - many sourced from BMW's historic archives - and thorough text covering BMW's full history.

This is the one volume no BMW aficionado will want to be without.

Information

Author:Tony Lewin
Details:240 pages, 31.5 x 25.5 x 3 cm / 12.4 x 10 x 1.18 in, hardback
Illustrations:numerous b&w and colour photos
Publisher:Motorbooks International (USA, 2022)
ISBN:9780760373774
BMW Century (2nd Edition)

BMW Century (2nd Edition)

Language: English

Buy on Amazon.com
Buy on Amazon UK
Buy on Amazon CA

BMW - Les plus beaux modèles 1959-1999 (Autofocus)

December 9 1959 marks the date of the second birth of the BMW company, born forty years earlier.
Who could have imagined then that this small car manufacturer on the verge of bankruptcy would have six decades later one hundred and thirty thousand employees spread across thirty-one factories under several different brands with Mini and Rolls Royce?
Who could have guessed that the Munich manufacturer would produce more than 2.5 million vehicles in 2018?

Pages of the book BMW - Les plus beaux modeles 1959-1999 (1)

Its history was built on models such as the tiny 700, the BMW 1500/1800, the 2002, the 5 and 7 Series, the exciting M3, the 30 CSI and 6 Series coupes, the Z1 and Z3 convertible and the powerful M1.
Legendary models that you will find throughout the pages of this book and which have built the modern history of this manufacturer whose philosophy is driving pleasure.

Pages of the book BMW - Les plus beaux modeles 1959-1999 (2)

Information

Author:Patrice Vergès, Nicolas Delpierre
Details:160 pages, 29 x 24 cm / 11.4 x 9 in, hardback
Illustrations:300 b&w and colour photos
Publisher:ETAI (F, 2019)
Series:Autofocus
ISBN:9791028303761
BMW - Les plus beaux modèles 1959-1999 (Autofocus)

BMW - Les plus beaux modèles 1959-1999

Language: French

Buy on Amazon.com
Buy on Amazon UK
Buy on Amazon CA

BMW - Un siècle d'excellence (2ème édition)

Founded in 1916, BMW is one of the oldest and most respected manufacturers in the world. For over a century, the brand has always favored technical innovation, thus consolidating its global reputation for luxury, performance and design.
Originally, as a manufacturer of aircraft engines, BMW sought out sophisticated materials and innovative production techniques to develop engines combining minimal weight, maximum power and total reliability. .

This search for excellence would be BMW's trademark throughout its history and ensure the success of the Bavarian brand. It would give rise to legendary models such as the R32 flat twin, the brand's first motorcycle released in 1923, the 328 roadster designed by Kurt Joachimson or the Neue Klasse 1961, the prestigious M grand touring series or the all-new i4, BMW's first 100% electric sedan. High-tech creations that all contributed to placing BMW at the top of the high-end automobile market.

Author specializing in the Bavarian brand, Tony Levin traces the entire history of the manufacturer here, chronologically, from the first productions to the hybrid and electric models of today and tomorrow. This new, fully updated edition brings together an impressive iconography including very beautiful studio photographs and numerous technical diagrams or rare documents from the BMW archives.

A publishing quality that lives up to the excellence of the German brand.

Information

Author:Tony Lewin
Details:240 pages, 31.5 x 25.5 x 2.2 cm / 12.4 x 10 x 0.87 in, hardback
Illustrations:numerous b&w and colour photos
Publisher:Glénat (F, 2020)
ISBN:9782344045077
BMW - Un siècle d'excellence (2ème édition)

BMW - Un siècle d'excellence (2ème édition)

Language: French

Buy on Amazon.com
Buy on Amazon UK
Buy on Amazon CA

BMW, 100 ans d'innovations (Collection Prestige)

A reference work, "BMW, 100 ans d'innovations" offers a new perspective on the century-old adventure of the prestigious German brand.
The history of Bayerische Motoren Werke, better known by the abbreviation BMW, is told through the main themes that have allowed it to acquire a worldwide reputation, based not only on its technically avant-garde automobiles but also on pioneering work in fields as diverse as aircraft engines and motorcycles.

From the beginnings of its automotive epic in the late 1920s to the birth of the BMW i label, including the integration of the MINI and Rolls-Royce brands, BMW has placed itself at the forefront in terms of build quality, technological innovations, pure performance, efficiency, design and sporting results.

Pages of the book BMW, 100 ans d'innovations (1)

This book, abundantly illustrated with documents from the BMW archives, deciphers the major episodes which brought the Bavarian manufacturer to the top of the hierarchy of high-end firms.

Pages of the book BMW, 100 ans d'innovations (2)

Information

Author:Sylvain Reisser
Details:224 pages, 29 x 24 cm / 11.4 x 9 in, hardback
Illustrations:500 b&w and colour photos
Publisher:ETAI (F, 2016)
Series:Collection Prestige
ISBN:9791028301026
BMW, 100 ans d'innovations (Collection Prestige)

BMW, 100 ans d'innovations

Language: French

Buy on Amazon.com
Buy on Amazon UK
Buy on Amazon CA

BMW: Die schönsten Modelle - 100 Jahre Design und Technik

The first step towards the legendary slogan "BMW - For the joy of driving" was over 100 years ago, when "Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG" was entered in the commercial register on March 7 1916. It is one of several nuclei of the modern BMW AG, which in the decades that followed succeeded like hardly any other manufacturer in automotive history in finding market niches that had previously been unoccupied. This resulted in vehicles that have long since become design icons due to their unusual, sometimes breathtaking body shapes, such as the sleek 507 or the legendary M1.

Pages of the book BMW: Die schonsten Modelle (1)

Meticulously researched, automobile journalist Roland Löwisch presents the most beautiful and successful models of the last 100 years from BMW in this book, thus tracing the extraordinary history of the company.
In addition to the models of the 3 5 and 7 series, selected representatives of the X and Z series are also presented with informative descriptions and the most important technical data. Short portraits introduce the designers responsible for the respective decades and their often trend-setting work. Exquisite high-performance creations from M GmbH and the most important racing sports cars as well as an overview of the most beautiful BMW Art Cars complete this richly illustrated work.

Pages of the book BMW: Die schonsten Modelle (2)

Information

Author:Roland Löwisch
Details:256 pages, 28 x 22.5 x 2.4 cm / 11 x 8.9 x 0.94 in, hardback
Illustrations:numerous b&w and colour photos
Publisher:Heel-Verlag GmbH (D, 2016)
ISBN:9783958433533
BMW: Die schönsten Modelle - 100 Jahre Design und Technik

BMW: Die schönsten Modelle - 100 Jahre Design und Technik

Language: German

Buy on Amazon.com
Buy on Amazon UK
Buy on Amazon CA

BMW Automobile 1928–2000

The fascinating development of BMW models over the decades: Hardly any other car brand, whose roots go back to the time before the First World War, has developed such an unmistakable profile as BMW. Conventional mediocrity or an industrial scheme oriented towards the mass market does not characterize any of this brand's products.

Pages of the book BMW Automobile 1928–2000 (1)

This volume by the authors Werner Oswald, Eberhard Kittler and Halwart Schrader offers a compact, comprehensive documentation of the automobiles produced by BMW, including the predecessors Wartburg and Dixi - from the beginnings in 1929 to the year 2000.

Information

Author:Werner Oswald, Eberhard Kittler, Halwart Schrader
Details:272 pages, 27 x 24 x 2.2 cm / 10.6 x 9 x 0.87 in, hardback
Illustrations:400 b&w and colour photos
Publisher:Motorbuch Verlag (D, 2021)
ISBN:9783613044029
BMW Automobile 1928–2000

BMW Automobile 1928–2000

Language: German

Buy on Amazon.com
Buy on Amazon UK

BMW - Klassiker vom Dixi zur 6er-Reihe (Typenkompass)

BMW did not have an easy time after the Second World War. A destroyed main factory in Munich, where cars had never been manufactured before, high losses in the 1950s and a near takeover by Daimler.
But with the appearance of the BMW mid-range car 1500 in 1962, a sensational turnaround was achieved.

In this book from the Typenkompass series, Halwart Schrader presents the passenger car series up to the mid-1970s, from the first Dixis to the pre-war classics such as the BMW 328 and the first 6 Series Coupé series from 1978. In addition, the special models, such as those from Veritas or the EMW models, are presented in detail and with pictures.

Pages of the book [TK] BMW - Klassiker vom Dixi zur 6er-Reihe (1)

Information

Author:Halwart Schrader
Details:128 pages, 20.5 x 14 cm / 8.1 x 5.5 in, paperback
Illustrations:62 b&w and 66 colour photos
Publisher:Motorbuch Verlag (D, 2015)
Series:Typenkompass
ISBN:9783613037342
BMW - Klassiker vom Dixi zur 6er-Reihe (Typenkompass)

BMW - Klassiker vom Dixi zur 6er-Reihe

Language: German

Buy on Amazon.com
Buy on Amazon UK
Buy on Amazon CA
< >

Related titles:

Electric Vehicles and the BMW i3 - 60, 94 and 120Ah

Electric Vehicles and the BMW i3 - 60, 94 and 120Ah (Expanded, Revised, and Updated Edition)

David J. Bricknell | English | paperback | 195 p. | 2021

BMW Group: 100 Masterpieces

BMW Group: 100 Masterpieces

Andreas Braun | English + German | hardback | 236 p. | 2016

BMWi - Visionary Mobility

BMWi - Visionary Mobility

Andreas Braun | English + German | hardback | 240 p. | 2018

Le Guide de toutes les BMW (volume 2)

Le Guide de toutes les BMW (volume 2): Séries 5, 6, 7 et 8, M1 et Z8 (1972-2004)

Laurent Pennequin | French | hardback | 417 p. | 2018

BMW 1929 bis 1945 - Vom Kleinwagen zum Traumauto

BMW 1929 bis 1945 - Vom Kleinwagen zum Traumauto

Walter Zeichner, Rainer Simons, Hagen Nyncke | German | hardback | 416 p. | 2022

BMW Klassiker - Best of René Staud

BMW Klassiker - Best of René Staud

René Staud, Halwart Schrader | German | hardback | 240 p. | 2021

Das grosse BMW-Coupe-Buch (Reprint)

Das grosse BMW-Coupé-Buch - Alle Modelle von 1938 bis heute (Reprint)

Stefan Schrahe, Hans Friedrich Andexer | German | hardback | 192 p. | 2016

BMW 328 - Vom Roadster zum Mythos

NEW

BMW 328 - Vom Roadster zum Mythos

Rainer Simons, Halwart Schrader | German | hardback | 328 p. | 2024


The TMB Bookshop presents not only general books on BMW . Click here to discover all books on BMW (including technical books like workshop manuals, restauration manuals, driver's handbooks, parts catalogues, etc.).


Last update: 2025-01-23