Currently reading: BMW M marks 50th anniversary with historic logo and colours
M division celebrates the half-century by offering retro motorsport logo and a raft of heritage paint schemes

BMW's M performance division is reviving a historic logo and some of its most recognisable colour schemes to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2022.

Ahead of the anniversary on 24 May next year, the brand has revealed that buyers of M Sport and full-fat M cars can have the traditional BMW roundel replaced with a version of the original BMW Motorsport emblem.

This is said to be "a unique offer in the history of BMW M" and applies to UK cars ordered from March. 

This logo first appeared in 1973 as the year-old BMW Motorsport division first took to the track with its legendary 3.0 CSL. In 1978, a new logo featuring slanted stripes and a large M was introduced on the M1 supercar.

Originally, the dark-blue element of the logo was a violet, which connected the blue (which "stands for BMW") and the red, which symbolises racing. 

As well as the retro logo, M car buyers can specify their cars in an array of "historically significant" colours from the brand's back catalogue. Some 50 colours are on offer, including Dakar Yellow, Fire Orange, Daytona Violet, Macao Blue, Imola Red and Frozen Marina Bay Blue. UK prices have yet to be confirmed.

M division boss Frank van Meel said: "With the classic BMW Motorsport emblem, we would like to share our joy about the anniversary of BMW M GmbH with the fans of the brand.

"We have a great year ahead of us, which will be celebrated with unique product highlights and exciting performances. The M has long been considered the strongest letter in the world, and in our company's anniversary year, it's stronger than ever." 

The brand is aiming for another sales record in 2021 and has promised several important unveilings next year, including the new M3 Touring, a "spectacular special model of the BMW M4 Coupé series" (expected to be the hardcore CS) and the next-generation M2 Coupé.

Also set for launch is the first electrified M car, which we expect to see in concept form next week. The 'Concept XM' SUV has been previewed ahead of its unveiling, suggesting it will take the form of a radically styled performance SUV with a hybrid powertrain. 

Felix Page

Felix Page
Title: News and features editor

Felix is Autocar's news editor, responsible for leading the brand's agenda-shaping coverage across all facets of the global automotive industry - both in print and online.

He has interviewed the most powerful and widely respected people in motoring, covered the reveals and launches of today's most important cars, and broken some of the biggest automotive stories of the last few years. 

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Just Saying 24 November 2021
I'm sure to be in the minority but that grill has certainly grown on me. I quite like it... now.
Pierre 24 November 2021
Just Saying wrote:

I'm sure to be in the minority but that grill has certainly grown on me. I quite like it... now.

We may still be in the minority but I get the impression that the majority is shrinking, if it really is a majority.Anyway, that's a bit of guesswork on my part because I haven spoken to all of BMW's cutomers and potential customers. For my part, I like it and the more I see it on cars on the road, the more I like it.So there are two of us at least!

scrap 24 November 2021

That's actually a nice little bit of design. Very rare from BMW these days, so I suppose even this ultimately small detail is worth celebrating.

Peter Cavellini 24 November 2021

@Bob Cat Brian, Those of us old enough to remember the original M' badge wii appreciate it,and, it will introduce it to the current and future buyers, and on target sales of Cars show the are popular Cars, I see at least eight-Ten nearly every Day, all ages and different series, wouldn't be selling if they weren't any good otherwise.

Bob Cat Brian 24 November 2021
Peter Cavellini wrote:

@Bob Cat Brian, Those of us old enough to remember the original M' badge wii appreciate it,and, it will introduce it to the current and future buyers, and on target sales of Cars show the are popular Cars, I see at least eight-Ten nearly every Day, all ages and different series, wouldn't be selling if they weren't any good otherwise.

I'm sure the target audience will love it, to me it is just a gauche trinkett on top of already brash and vulgar current BMWs