Key facts
- Founded
- 1972
- Founded by
- BMW AG
- Country
- Germany
- Headquarters
- Munich, Germany
- Parent company
- BMW Group
- Legal name
- BMW M GmbH
- Famous models
- M3, M5, M1, M4, X5 M
- Website
- www.bmw-m.com
BMW M Brand Overview
The BMW M logo, an italic M led by three coloured stripes, is the badge of BMW M GmbH, the performance arm of BMW. The company began in May 1972 as BMW Motorsport GmbH, a 35-person racing department led by Jochen Neerpasch, and its lightweight 3.0 CSL became the most successful touring car of the 1970s.
Road cars followed. The M1 of 1978 was the first car the division developed entirely in-house, after a plan to have it engineered at Lamborghini fell apart. Then came the M535i, M5 and E30 M3, and in 1993 the company was renamed BMW M GmbH. Today it is a wholly owned subsidiary of BMW AG, run by Frank van Meel, building full M cars such as the M3, M5 and XM plus a long line of M Performance models.
BMW M Logo Meaning
The M stands for Motorsport. For the stripes, BMW’s official reading is blue for the BMW brand, red for motorsport, and the middle stripe for the link between the two. That is an interpretation rather than a documented design brief, and BMW’s own historians say the origin is not fully clear.
Marc Thiesbürger of BMW Group Classic believes the red most likely came from Texaco, which BMW courted as a sponsor in 1972. Early 3.0 CSL drafts by designer Wolfgang Seehaus carry the Texaco name, although the deal collapsed at the end of that year. In this reading, violet was picked simply as a mix of blue and red. Designer Manfred Rennen denied the Texaco link, and no archive document settles it. The two commonly cited interpretations therefore agree on blue for BMW and violet (now dark blue) as a blend, and differ on whether the red means motorsport or Texaco.
The slanted, bevelled shape was meant to suggest speed, which is why fans often type the BMW M symbol as “///M”.
BMW M Logo Evolution
1973: The BMW Motorsport Roundel
The first BMW Motorsport logo was not an M at all. It wrapped the regular BMW roundel in staggered semicircles of light blue, violet and red, and it first appeared on the 3.0 CSL racing cars in 1973. According to Jochen Neerpasch, the Swiss agency Müller drew it, and the matching stripe livery on the race cars was finalised by graphic designer Pierre Mendell with BMW’s Manfred Rennen.
- Design: BMW roundel in the centre, framed by three offset arcs on a white field
- Colors: Light blue, violet and red, with the blue-and-white BMW quarters in the middle
- Changes: The first visual identity for BMW’s new racing company
- Context: The colours had to work on cars, clothing and paperwork, and stand apart in black-and-white photos
1978: The Striped M on the BMW M1
The BMW M logo as we know it arrived on the tail of the M1. BMW credits Giorgetto Giugiaro and his studio Italdesign, who also styled the car, with the letter M and the three stripes that lean against it. The M1 is the only M production car to carry both the old Motorsport roundel and the new striped M.
- Design: Italic block M preceded by three parallel bars at the same angle
- Colors: Blue, violet and red stripes with a silver M
- Changes: A compact wordmark replaced the round emblem as the division’s signature
- Context: The badge spread to later M road cars, usually paired with a model name such as M3 or M5
Until 2020: The Chrome M and the Dark-Blue Stripe
Over the decades the violet stripe drifted towards dark blue, and BMW now describes it that way. The brand’s communication logo picked up a three-dimensional look, with a metallic M and gradient-shaded stripes that echoed the chrome badges on the cars.
- Design: The same Giugiaro geometry, now rendered with highlights and shadows
- Colors: Light blue, dark blue and red, with a brushed-metal M
- Changes: Violet replaced by dark blue; a glossy, 3D finish
- Context: The version most people still picture as the M logo
2020–present: The Flat BMW M Logo
On 3 March 2020 BMW launched flat communication logos for BMW, BMW i and BMW M together. The M version drops all shading and uses four solid colours: light blue matched to the BMW roundel, dark blue, red, and a white M (grey on light backgrounds, as here).
- Design: Two-dimensional stripes and letter, with no gradients or chrome
- Colors: Light blue, dark blue, red, and white or grey for the M
- Changes: Flattened for screens and digital media
- Context: BMW said the flat logos were for advertising and media only. Cars and dealerships keep the existing badges
2022: The 50 Years BMW M Emblem
For its 50th anniversary, BMW M revived the 1973 roundel as a road-car badge, replacing the usual BMW emblem on the bonnet, boot lid and wheel centres. In the US it was fitted to M high-performance models built from March 2022, and it was an option on M Performance models such as the M340i.
- Design: The 1970s layout of offset arcs around the current flat BMW roundel
- Colors: Light blue, dark blue and red around the blue-and-white BMW quarters
- Changes: A heritage badge offered only in the anniversary year
- Context: Launched alongside 50 historic M paint colours such as Dakar Yellow and Daytona Violet
BMW M Sport Logo vs M Performance vs Full M Cars
An M badge does not always mean an M car. BMW uses the striped M on three levels of car:
- Full M cars such as the M2, M3, M4, M5 and XM are developed by BMW M with their own engines, chassis and brakes. They carry the full model name with the stripes in the kidney grille and on the tail. From 2024, new M models have gloss-black badges with a satin aluminium outline, and special editions such as the M4 CS get a red outline.
- M Performance models began in 2012 with the M550d and the X5 and X6 M50d. They are standard BMW model lines with more power and sharper tuning from BMW M, such as the M340i, M440i, i4 M50 and X3 M50. They show the model name with the M logo on the tailgate and an M in the grille.
- M Sport is an equipment package for ordinary BMWs. It adds M-styled bumpers, sports suspension, an M steering wheel and wheels, and puts the small M sport logo on the front wings, steering wheel and door sills. The engine is unchanged, so a 320i M Sport is still a 320i.
The ladder mirrors rivals such as Mercedes-AMG and Audi, whose S line trim sits below its S and RS models.
FAQ
What does BMW M stand for?
The M stands for Motorsport. The division was founded in 1972 as BMW Motorsport GmbH to run BMW’s racing programme and renamed BMW M GmbH in 1993.
What do the three colours in the BMW M logo mean?
Officially, blue is BMW, red is motorsport and the middle stripe links them. BMW’s historians think the red probably came from Texaco, a would-be sponsor in 1972, with violet as a blend. Both are interpretations.
Who designed the BMW M logo?
The first BMW Motorsport logo of 1973 was a roundel credited to the Swiss agency Müller. The striped M that debuted on the M1 in 1978 is credited by BMW to Giorgetto Giugiaro’s Italdesign.
Is an M Sport BMW a real M car?
No. M Sport is a styling and chassis package for regular BMWs. Full M cars are models like the M3 and M5, with M Performance cars such as the M340i in between.
