40 Years of Mmmm

In 1972, the Dow Jones closed above 1,000 for the first time, the Olympic Games in Munich were marred by the killings of 11 Israeli athletes, gasoline averaged 55 cents a gallon, Bobby Fischer became the world chess champion and the last U.S. troops withdrew from Vietnam.

It was also a notable year for German automaker BMW, as that year saw the birth of its famed M division. Let's take a quick journey through some of the important dates and achievements in M history.

-- May 1, 1972: BMW Motorsports GmbH takes over motorsports development with just 35 employees.

-- 1972: BMW introduces its first M-built race car, the 3.0 CSL

-- 1973: BMW debuts its now-signature triple-stripe color scheme of blue, violet and red for the racing season.

-- 1975: BMW competes in the U.S. IMSA Series.

-- 1978: The hand-built, 277-hp E26 M1is introduced. Initial cost was 100,000 German marks (approximately $167,556 U.S. in 2012 currency) and had a top speed of 164 mph.

-- 1979: The first M-badged version of the BMW 5-series, the M535i, is introduced. It had 218 hp.

-- 1983: The Brabham BMW takes driver Nelson Piquet to a Formula One World Championship.

-- 1983: Motorsports GmbH grows to 380 employees.

-- 1984: A modified M1 engine powers the E28 M5. Euro-spec cars feature 286-hp engines and hit 152 mph.

-- 1986: The first M3, the E30, premieres. BMW would sell more than 17,000 examples, and the car is still in high demand.

-- 1992: The E36 M3 premieres with a more subtle exterior and 240 hp.

-- 1993: Motorsports GmbH changes its name to BMW M GmbH.

-- 1995: A 600-hp, 6.0-liter BMW V12 powered the McLaren F1 to first-, third-, fourth-, fifth- and 13th-place finishes in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

-- 1997: The M roadster, based on the Z3 roadster, debuts, and an M coupe soon follows.

-- 1998: The third-generation E39 M5 premieres with a new 5.0-liter V8 making 400 hp.

-- 2000: BMW introduces the E46 M3, with a maximum 333 hp from the straight-six engine.

-- 2001: The M3 GTR takes to the American Le Mans Series for competition.

-- 2003: The Coupe Sport Lightweight (CSL) M3 with 360 hp and carbon-fiber bits launches as a Europe-only special edition of 1,383 units.

-- 2004: The M3 GTR finishes 1-2 in the 24 Hour Race at the Eifel and repeats that feat in 2005.

-- 2004: The E60 M5 launches. The V10 under the hood churns out 507 hp and revs beyond 8,000 rpm. Just a few months later, the M6 coupe, with the same V10 powerplant, emerges.

-- 2006: M GmbH brings out the Z4 M roadster and the Z4 M coupe. It also starts selling sport packages for non-M models.

-- 2008: The much-anticipated fourth generation of the M3 arrives with a new V8 under the hood and comes as a four-door sedan (E90), a two-door coupe (E92) or a convertible (E93).

-- 2009: The X5M and the X6M add gobs of horsepower to the BMW utility-vehicle lines.

-- 2009: M GmbH introduces the M3 GTS, a high-performance M. Its 4.4-liter V8 produces about 450 hp. Sadly, it was a Europe-only model.

-- 2010: The 1 M, based on the 1-series, is introduced, making 335 hp.

-- 2011: The fifth-generation F10 M5 is revealed at the Frankfurt motor show. The powerplant is now a turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 mated to an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. The car goes on sale in North America the end of 2012, and the U.S. market will be the only one to get a manual-transmission option.

By David Arnouts