# The Legendary Cars That Defined BMW | Otto Explains | AutoTronix **Section:** Otto Explains **Canonical:** https://autotronix.om/otto/bmw-legendary-cars **Language:** English **Arabic version:** https://autotronix.om/ar/otto/bmw-legendary-cars --- ## Short Answer Six BMW cars changed the company itself, not just its catalogue. The 1500 of 1961 gave BMW its breakthrough after the crisis of 1959, the 1975 3 Series became its most successful range, the M1 turned BMW Motorsport into a maker of road cars, the X5 created the Sports Activity Vehicle, the i3 was BMW’s first series-produced electric car, and the iX3 of 2025 opened the new Neue Klasse. --- ## How were these cars chosen? This is not a ranking of BMW’s most famous or most beautiful cars. A car is included only if it changed BMW itself: its finances, its engineering, its role in motor sport or the kind of vehicles it sells. Cars remembered mainly for their design, speed or rarity are left to Otto’s selection of iconic BMW cars. The company’s full story, from its founding to today, is told in [the history of BMW](https://autotronix.om/otto/bmw-history). --- ## How did the BMW 1500 change BMW’s fortunes? BMW calls its New Class a huge gamble. In 1959 the company had come close to bankruptcy and to selling out to Daimler-Benz before its major shareholder, Herbert Quandt, rescued it. The BMW 1500, the first New Class model, was shown at the 1961 Frankfurt Motor Show and built from 1962: a modern four-door saloon with an all-new four-cylinder engine. In 1963 BMW stopped building its large saloons, apart from the 3200 CS, to free capacity for the New Class. That year revenue rose 47 per cent on 1962 to 433 million marks, and the New Class accounted for 46 per cent of it. BMW says the New Class finally secured its breakthrough as a maker of globally desirable modern cars. What changed: BMW’s production and revenue shifted to the mid-size saloon. --- ## Why was the first 3 Series so important? The 3 Series was unveiled at the 1975 Frankfurt Motor Show to replace the 02 Series. It introduced the driver-focused cockpit BMW still uses, and in 1977 it became the first car in its class offered with six-cylinder engines. It passed one million sales in 1981, making it the most successful model in BMW’s history at that point, and 1,364,039 of the first generation were sold up to 1983. What changed: the compact sports saloon became BMW’s core product. BMW calls the 3 Series its most successful model range; by July 2025 it was in its seventh generation and BMW had sold more than 20 million. --- ## How did the M1 turn BMW Motorsport into a car maker? BMW Motorsport GmbH was founded in 1972. The M1, shown at the 1978 Paris Motor Show, was the first car it developed and built itself: a mid-engined sports car with a 3.5-litre six-cylinder engine (M88) of 277 bhp. Only 445 were built until 1981, 399 for the road and 46 for the Procar racing series. What changed: BMW’s motorsport company became a maker of road cars. A modified version of the M1’s engine went into the M635 CSi and the first M5, and BMW Motorsport GmbH became today’s BMW M GmbH, the home of BMW’s high-performance models. --- ## How did the X5 change what a BMW could be? BMW revealed the X5 on 10 January 1999 as a new vehicle concept. It launched what BMW calls the Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV) segment and the BMW X family, and it was built in the United States, at Plant Spartanburg in South Carolina, from September 1999. The millionth X5 left Spartanburg in June 2010, and by 2018 the X5 accounted for more than half of the 4.4 million vehicles the plant had built. What changed: BMW added a new kind of vehicle and a model family of its own, with an American plant at its centre. --- ## Why was the i3 a turning point? The i3, revealed on 29 July 2013 in New York, London and Beijing, was the BMW Group’s first all-electric series-produced car. It launched under the i sub-brand, which BMW says stands for innovation, and it combined a passenger cell made of carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) with a 125 kW (170 hp) electric motor. What changed: BMW began building fully electric cars in series, under a sub-brand of their own. How an electric car differs from a hybrid is explained in [hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric cars](https://autotronix.om/otto/hybrid-vs-plug-in-hybrid-vs-electric). --- ## What is BMW’s new Neue Klasse? In September 2025 BMW presented the new iX3 as the first series-produced model of its Neue Klasse, a name taken from the New Class of 1961, and described it as a new chapter in its history. The iX3 uses BMW’s sixth-generation eDrive technology, with 800V technology and cylindrical battery cells, and it is built at a new BMW Group plant in Debrecen, Hungary. What changed: BMW describes it as a new chapter; how far it reshapes the company is still to be seen. --- ## Common Questions **Is the Neue Klasse related to the 1961 New Class?** By name. The BMW 1500 of 1961 was the first model of the original New Class (Neue Klasse in German), and the iX3 of 2025 is the first series-produced model of the new Neue Klasse. **What is BMW’s best-selling model range?** The 3 Series. BMW calls it its most successful model range, and by July 2025 it had sold more than 20 million since 1975. **How many BMW M1 cars were built?** 445, between 1978 and 1981: 399 road cars and 46 cars built for the Procar racing series. **Did the X5 start BMW’s SUV range?** Yes. BMW calls its X models Sports Activity Vehicles (SAVs), and the X5 of 1999 launched both that segment and the BMW X family. --- ## Related Otto Explanations - Why You Need a Pre-Purchase Inspection Before Buying a Used Car: https://autotronix.om/otto/pre-purchase-inspection --- ## Related Services - AutoTronix Garage: https://autotronix.om/garage - AutoTronix Lab: https://autotronix.om/lab - AutoTronix PERFORMANCE: https://autotronix.om/performance --- ## Book a Service WhatsApp: +968 9966 8600 https://api.whatsapp.com/send/?phone=96899668600&type=phone_number&app_absent=0 Location: Mabellah Industrial, Street 7, Muscat — Saturday to Thursday, 9 AM to 9 PM