Why Is the BMW Logo Blue and White?

BMW stands for Bayerische Motoren Werke, German for Bavarian Motor Works. The name was adopted in 1917 when Rapp Motorenwerke, the Munich engine maker founded by Karl Rapp, was renamed. The new roundel kept Rapp's black ring and replaced the horse head inside it with blue and white quarters, reminiscent of the coat of arms and flag of Bavaria.

Bavaria's own colors are white and blue. Wikipedia ties them to the Wittelsbach dynasty, which ruled the region from 1180 to 1918. The state constitution names the colors but gives no exact shade.

The Bavarian arms use a diamond, or lozenge, pattern in blue and white. BMW's roundel uses plain quarters instead. According to Wikipedia, local laws at the time forbade the use of state coats of arms on commercial logos, so the company could borrow the colors but not the pattern.

This is the standard explanation, and it is a reasonable one, but it is an account of the law and the look. The sources used here do not quote a designer or a founder explaining the choice.

BMW built aircraft engines, so the idea that the logo is a propeller against a blue sky is easy to believe. Wikipedia calls it a persistent myth, likely traced to a 1929 BMW advertisement showing the logo over a rotating propeller. The roundel is twelve years older than that ad.

The ad is real, and the connection to flying is real, but the quarters were chosen first. The myth explains the picture after the fact.

The blue has been redrawn repeatedly. The brand page describes earlier versions in lighter or more saturated blues, a black ring with gold-colored lettering in 1917, and a flat 2020 version that drops the black ring for a thin gray one. The blue and white quarters stayed through all of it, which is why the roundel is still recognizable on a car like the 3 Series above.