Historical photos, posters and film records: car fair, Eisenach vehicle plant, advertising bills, 1929 International Alpine Run, woman cranks a 3/15 PS.Clip from a 1960s BMW Film: reconstructed account on the 1929 Alpine Run (Stilfser Joch road), black convertible. 3/15 PS, white saloon/sedan. Driving shots from 2003. Thuringia. Driver in historical clothes. Final shot: Wartburg castle, Eisenach. 3/15 PS, red saloon/sedan. Exterior and interior details. 3/15 PS, red saloon/sedan. Driving shots from the 1990s, Germany. Historical town scenery, country roads. Actors in historical clothes.

Historical racing scenes, 1930s. 328, white. Driving shots from the 1990s. View of engine compartment, driver closes engine hood. Country road driving shots. Driver in historical racing gear. 328, silver. Design, engine. 328, red. Driving shots from 2003, country roads. Driver and co-driver in historical racing gear. 328 Mille Miglia (1939, racing version with an aluminium-magnesium bodyshell, winner of the 1940 Mille Miglia race, to name one. Reconstructed racing shots and historical photos.

335, blue and black. Driving shots from 2003, country roads. Driver in historical clothes. 335, blue and black. Driving shots from the 1990s. Germany, autumn. Country roads, historical town scenery. Actors in historical clothes. 335, black. Design/details, studio shots, motion control tracking shots in front of black background. 335, blue and black. Design, details, interior, engine. Shot in front of historical town scenery.

Extracts from „Craftsmanship“, BMW advertising film (b&w) from the 1950s about production and testing of the BMW 501/502, original German (A2) and English (A1) commentary. Historical advertising brochure. 501, black. Design: studio shot, motion control tracking shot in front of black background. 501, black. Design, details, shot in front of historical town scenery. 501, black. Driving shots from 2003. Country roads, small town.

Historical amateur shots: going on a camping holiday (1950s). Historical animated advertising film (1950s). Isetta, yellow. Driving shots from the 1990s. Country roads, historical town scenery. Actors in historical clothes. Opening of the front door, getting out. Isetta, white and red. Driving shot from 2003. Passengers in historical clothes.

Extracts from 1950s feature film "Invitation to Monte Carlo", co-starring a white BMW 507. 507, white. Design. 507, red. Driving shots from the 1990s. Country roads. 507, red. Design, details. 507, red. Driving shots from 2003. Small town. 507, red. Design: studio shot, motion control tracking shot in front of black background. Historical advertising brochure.

International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, 1962. Presentation of the BMW 1500 ("Neue Klasse"), extract from a BMW advertising film, circa 1964. Production of "Neue Klasse" cars at the BMW Munich plant, extracts from a BMW advertising film, circa 1964. "Neue Klasse" cars at the Rallye Monte Carlo, 1964. Extract from a 1960s BMW advertising film (b&w) with various "Neue Klasse" cars. BMW 1500 in New York. Extract from a 1960s BMW advertising film. 1500, blue. Engine compartment. 1500, blue. Driving shots from the 1990s. Country roads. Lady driver in historical clothes. 1500, blue. Driving shots from 2003. Country roads.

2002, gray-blue. Design, details. 2002, gray-blue. Driving shots at the BMW proving ground, 1996. 2002, orange. Driving shots from 2003. Munich, night. 2002, orange. Design: front / rear, night.

M1, orange (street version). Design, details. Nürburging race track. Engine compartment, cockpit. M1, orange (street version). Driving shots at the Nürburging race track, 1998. Extracts from a historical documentary (1979): pop artist Andy Warhol painting an M1 (racing version), edited against racing scenes from the 24-hour race at Le Mans in 1979, where Warhol's Art Car had its first and only race outing, finishing sixth in the overall ranking. Procar Race with BMW M1s in Monaco, historical footage (1979 or 80).

M3 Coupés, black / red. Clips from advertising films. M3 Coupé, red. Design, Details. M3 Coupé 2.5 Sport Evolution, black. Driving shots at the Nürburgring race track, 1998s. BMW M3s (racing version) at the the German Touring Car Championship, 1989. Clips from various races. Australian artist Ken Done designs a BMW M3 as an Art Car. Clips from a historical documentary, 1989. Australian Aboriginal artist Michael Jagamara-Nelson paints a BMW M3 as an Art Car. Clips from a historical documentary, 1989.

12-cylinder engine, 750i/iL type plates. 750i/750iL, silver. Driving shots from advertising films, circa 1987 . 750i/750iL, silver. Design, Details. Studio shots from advertising film, circa 1987. Interior, engine. Assembly of the 12-cylinder engine at the BMW Munich plant, circa 1990.

Extracts from an advertising film (1988). Real actors drive a Z1 through a virtual world. Z1, blue. Driving shots from 2003. Mountain road . Z1 assembly at the BMW Munich plant, 1990. German Artist A.R. Penck paints a red BMW Z1 as an Art Car. Extracts from a historical documentary, 1990.

Historical photo: assembly of BMW 3/15 PS saloons/sedans at the Berlin workshop. Historical photo: the first BMW 3/15 PS in front of the assembly shop. Exterior shots of the deserted building (2004). BMW X5 with a trailer of BMW Group Mobile Tradition approaches the building. Interior shots of the deserted building (2004). BMW 3/15 PS, red saloon/sedan, in the former assembly shop (2004). Design, details. Emblem of the bodyshell supplier Ambi-Budd on the BMW 3/15 PS. FX shot (morph): evolution of the BMW kidney-shaped grille from the 326 (1936) to a 1990 3 Series BMW.

H. Lapp walks into the building. H.L.:Here we are in the Johannisthal suburb of Berlin, in an assembly shop where the first BMW, a 3/15 saloon, was built in 1929. It was always assumed the first BMW came from Eisenach, but that’s not right. The first BMW car was assembled here in Berlin, in Johannisthal, in this workshop, and delivered to the customers from here. Answer to the question: "Can we picture how this workshop must have looked in those days? What did they actually do here?" H.L.:Well, there were no assembly lines here, but even so the cars were built up piece by piece. The bodies were suspended from the ceiling and ran along overhead rails. Up there you can still see the foreman’s office: he had a commanding view of all the cars built here – quite a lot at any one time. The assembled cars were then trundled out through the door.Answer to the question: "We’ve come a long way from the little 3/15 to the 7 Series ..." H.L.:Yes. I’m standing here between the very first 3/15 – that’s 15 horsepower – and one of the latest models, the BMW 7 Series. In between, of course, there were any number of fascinating BMWs that have made history. Answer to the question: "This 7 Series is the ultimate in luxury. How important for the latest BMWs is tradition and the story of how those historic cars came about?" H.L.:Of course we look back on the past 75 years, and in that time plenty of BMWs have been designed and built. Before the war there was that first one, the 3/15, followed by the legendary 328 Roadster, another milestone that made motor-racing history, as we know. And even during the Second World War a precursor of the 7 Series was developed, a BMW 335 which they called the Autobahn car. The ancestor of the present-day 7 Series. After the war there was a bit of a hiatus because all our drawings and equipment were in Eisenach, in the Soviet zone. But by 1951 we’d started building cars again. At the International Motor Show at Frankfurt in 1951 the BMW 501 was on display, the “baroque angel” as it was known. A luxury car, the second ancestor of the 7 Series, if you like. But the fifties were also a time of contrast at BMW, because that was when they built the Isetta, the legendary bubble-car with the door at the front, a two-seater. It was the contrasts that almost ruined BMW, but the company was rescued by the major shareholder Herbert Quandt with help from the Bavarian government. That allowed BMW to remain independent and also to develop some new cars. There was another small car, the BMW 700; then came the "Neue Klasse" with the BMW 1500 and 1800. They really dragged the oxcart out of the mire, so to speak. That’s when the success story started. The 02 versions were produced in the late sixties and into the early seventies, and broke all records for numbers sold. Then we started building larger saloons again, the BMW 2500 and 2800, with coupé variants as well; and then the present numbering system was built up in the seventies and eighties. We started with the 5 Series, which appeared in 1972. Then we again had a number starting with 3, followed by the first 7 Series. So that’s when the present nomenclature came about, and it’s still incredibly successful. And this is the current 7 Series model, the latest state of development in large BMW saloons.Answer to the question: "Motor racing was an important aspect for BMW, right from the start. Can you tell us something about that?" H.L.:Yes: motor racing is an inseparable part of the history