What Kind Of Car Is A Beamer? Answered!

Anybody who has ever discussed cars before has likely heard the term beamer, and they know what it is. But most people don’t know the nickname’s history. 

Table of Contents

• What’s a beamer?
• Beamer Car, What Is It?
• Why Is It Called A Beamer?
• History of BMW And The Beamer Car
• BMW Nicknames: Beamer, Beemer, or Bimmer?
  • Beamer
  • Beemer
  • Bimmer
• What’s The Best Beamer Car?
  • BMW i8 (2014-2020)
  • BMW 5 Series (1972-Present)
• Key Takeaways

What’s a beamer?

A beamer car is simply a BMW car. This is a common and easy-to-say nickname used by people today to refer to all BMW vehicles. However, in the past, the beamer nickname was meant to identify BMW motorcycles, but through the years, it stuck as the primary BMW car nickname too. 

BMW openly explains their history to potential readers and customers to better understand the beamer, bimmer, and beemer nickname debate. We acquired information from them along with some key historical facts to explain more about what a beamer car is. 

Beamer Car, What Is It?

Beamer is a common nickname for BMWs in the US. BMW is a popular luxury car and one of the most recognizable brand names worldwide for these vehicles.

It’s also common to hear people refer to them as Beamers, Bimmers, and Beemers. These are all the same nicknames but different variations based on the spelling or pronunciation. 

All of the true BMW fans know what a Beamer car is too. These nicknames originated in the 1930s, and they have been carried on by dedicated BMW enthusiasts. 

Technically, a beamer is a BMW motorcycle. However, this is not how most people view the term, and it’s often used to refer to nearly all BMW vehicles instead. 

The term beamer also originated in Great Britain. This was their way of identifying BMW motorcycles on the racing circuit. 

Why Is It Called A Beamer?

BMWs are called beamer because the brand originally started with motorcycles. They were one of the big names in motorcycle racing, and their biggest rival was BSA bikes. 

Fans started referring to the BMW bikes as beamers and BSA bikes as beesers. This racing rivalry sparked fans and the general public to come up with the term beamer. 

Once BMW started to develop and release cars, it became confusing to refer to the cars and motorcycles the same. This led to people using the term bimmer when mentioning cars and beamer when mentioning motorcycles. 

However, nearly 100 years later, that theory was lost, and everybody used beamer as a way to talk about a BMW car, truck, or SUV. 

History of BMW And The Beamer Car

BMW is a German automobile, motorcycle, and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. This brand began as a motorcycle company and didn’t build its first car for over a decade.

The first BMW car was built in 1929, and it was the BMW 3/15, also called the Dixi. Later on, BMW expanded into more areas and became a provider of sports cars and larger, more impressive luxury cars like we see today. 

The term “Beamer” is a nickname for the BMW brand and today refers to all types of BMWs. These premium cars have tons of unique features worth mentioning. 

Today, BMW produces the most popular luxury vehicles, the most popular models being the BMW 3 Series, 5 Series, 7 Series, X5, and X6. These would all be considered beamer cars. 

BMW Nicknames: Beamer, Beemer, or Bimmer?

BMW is one of the most popular car brands in the world. But what do BMW owners call their cars? It’s most common to hear the term beamer used, but the other terms used in history include beemer and bimmer. 

Beamer

Beamer was a term created in the early 1900s in Great Britain to refer to BMW motorcycles because the name was similar to their competitor. This was a way for riders and fans to refer to the brand without saying much. 

However, this has become the nickname used to refer to all BMW cars and trucks today too. 

Beemer

Beemer was used as a way to identify a different type of motorcycle by BMW. These were more like motorbikes than motorcycles; this nickname was how people talked about those specific vehicles. 

Bimmer

Lastly, bimmer is likely the least used term, but it was created to avoid confusion between cars and motorcycles. However, not many people use this term today; they all refer to cars as beamers. 

What’s The Best Beamer Car?

Beamer cars are a great way to get around the city. They are also a lot of fun, and BMW has so many options worth mentioning. It’s hard to decide on the best vehicle because this car brand is legendary. 

BMW i8 (2014-2020)

The BMW i8 is a plug-in hybrid sports car with an electric motor. It has a two-cylinder petrol engine that can generate 228 horsepower and 236 lb-ft of torque.

The car has a top speed of 155 mph and can accelerate from 0 to 60 in 4 seconds. Using a standard household outlet, the car can be charged in less than four hours.

The electric powertrain can travel up to 18 miles on battery alone before it needs to be recharged by the gasoline engine or by plugging in to charge at home or at public charging stations.

The history of the beamer brand is wrapped up into one vehicle right here. This is one of the most impressive sports cars made in a long time. 

BMW 5 Series (1972-Present)

The BMW 5 Series is a series of sedans manufactured by German automaker BMW. The first generation was introduced in 1972 as a way to compete better with the executive car market. 

The BMW 5 series has also been available in different body styles such as sedan, wagon, coupe, and convertible. The BMW 5 Series has a long history of being one of the most prestigious cars on the market. 

It currently releases a midsize luxury car that has been around for over four decades. It has always been known for its performance and technology, and this newest model is no exception to that rule.

Key Takeaways

• A beamer car is a BMW car. 
• The term beamer was originally used to differentiate BMW motorcycles from their competitors with a similar name. 
• After 100 years, the term beamer stuck around as the primary nickname for BMW vehicles; this is how most people refer to them.