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Debut for the mass-production Enduro R 80 G/S: this newly styled bike is the first to be equipped with BMW's single swing-arm
"monolever". Weight is reduced and maintenance is easier.
ABS goes into
production. The development of the
Formula 1 engine
begins. BMW motorcycles win the Paris to Dakar Rally - the
toughest course in the world - and BMWs go on to win it
another three times.
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BMW becomes the first European carmaker to establish a subsidiary in Japan.
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In a class of its own: BMW wins its sixth Formula 2 European Championship.
The Steyr production facility starts up as the fifth BMW
manufacturing plant. A decision is taken to establish a
sixth plant at Regensburg.
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Formula 1 World Champions Brazilian Nelson Piquet beats out Frenchman Alain Prost for the Formula 1 World Championship after earning 59
points in a Brabham powered by a BMW four-cylinder turbo-engine.
BMW incorporates
diesel engines for cars in its range. In Geneva,
BMW for the first time demands lead-free petrol in Europe.
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Power Ride: German Chancellor Helmut Kohl (front), with the Mayor of Berlin, Eberhard Diepgen (center), inaugurate BMW's
expanded motorcycle plant in Berlin at the launch of the K
series.
The first European models with catalytic converters
appear. BMW Technik GmbH is founded. Computers and robots
revolutionize work in planning and production.
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Founding of BMW Technik: one of the new division's first products is the
BMW Z1 prototype.
BMW produces more than 37,000 motorcycles in the year of
the centenary of the two-wheeler. Celebration of
completion of the BMW Research and Engineering Centre. The
BMW 325 iX is the first BMW with four-wheel drive.
Just-in-time methods start to alter the way work is
allocated between production facilities and suppliers. New
agreements at the factories completely separate factory
hours from employee working hours.
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Alternative fuel: the
BMW 745i with direct fuel injection is the first European car with a liquid hydrogen tank and inter nal
fuel preparation.
The motor car celebrates its centenary. BMW holds a major
retrospective exhibition on the car in art. BMW also
celebrates its most successful year in the market in the
United States of America (96,800 registrations) and year
one at the new Regensburg works. In with 13 other European
manufacturers, BMW starts "Prometheus" projects for
improved traffic flow during the 1990s.
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BMW think tank: the Research & Development Center in Munich (FIZ) employs some 6,000 people.
BMW presents the first German twelve-cylinder automobile
engine in half a century, develops an electronic diesel
injection system, implements on-board diagnostics in
models of all series, and, with the
M3, wins the only
World Touring Car Championship that has ever been held.
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Milestone: BMW is the world's first motorcycle manufacturer to use an electronic-hydraulic antilock braking system (ABS) for
bikes. The photo shows the results when brakes are fully applied on a slippery surface with ABS (left) and without ABS.
The Z1 roadster is
launched. A BMW repair center is opened in Moscow and an
import center in Japan. Regensburg work begins shift on a
four-day cycle, including Saturdays. Assembly plants in
South America, South Africa and countries in Southeast Asia
assemble 250,000 cars.
BMW clubs now
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In the year the Iron Curtain fell, BMW has another first by
producing half a million cars. The company also has a
turnover of DM 20 million, and acquires Kontron GmbH, a
specialist in process engineering. The year sees the launch
of the K1 motorcycle and the
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