BMW, like other German manufacturers Porsche and Mercedes-Benz, operates a museum in Germany, where the company is based. BMW's museum is in Munich. And of course, visiting it requires an outlay of cash and time that’s not available to everyone.
For fans of the brand, and anyone with a passion for automotive history, the company has some good news. It has just opened an online museum offering detailed information and images of a host of models produced throughout its history. Information goes all the way back to the year 1928, when BMW first started making cars.
To be precise, BMW calls the platform a product catalog rather than a museum. Whatever you call it, it currently lists 424 BMW vehicles, not counting those of Mini and BMW Motorrad (motorcycles), both of which have had their own product catalogs since 2021.
The vehicles are sorted by model series, decade and body type, with a search tool (in the form of a menu bar) to make it easy to quickly find specific models.
Each vehicle is accompanied by images and technical information. Some even feature hyperlinks to additional documents like brochures and specialized books.
For example, by selecting the post-war classics tab, you can then choose the 1950s or 1960s from the menu bar below. Clicking on the 50s brings up other options below, including information on coupes, roadsters, sedans and more.
You want information on the 5 Series? Simply click on the 5 Series tab, and the decades from 1970 to 2000 will appear, and then you can go from there.
A more traditional search tool is also on the page, so if you're looking for a particular piece of information, simply enter the relevant keywords.
It's really well done. We invite you to visit the site.
Most of the information comes from the BMW archives. The company says it plans to continue updating its catalog with future generations of vehicles.
