A generous collector has uploaded high resolution scans of his BMW brochures to Picasa. This example of the 1978 BMW Motorsport brochure naturally drew me in.
From the brochure’s text:
Why men race.
Racing is high adventure. And this alone is enough to account for racing’s incredible popularity.The sport is burgeoning as never before. There are now more spectators, more participants, and more events than the sport has ever seen. In Germany alone, for example, there are over 1,000 approved racing events held every year. Road races, mountain climbing, circular-track races, rallyes, rally crosses, gymkhanas – the list is endless and varied.
We at the Bavarian Motor Works believe it is a sport worthy of our attention and involvement. For the simple reason that as more people become involved, more people will be capable of mastery of their cars in the extreme driving situations every driver occasionally faces.
That’s a phenomenal point. The natural instinct among the general populous is that racing drivers never turn off their competitive driving and make roads more dangerous. I think this brochure makes the opposite point marvelously well, a trained racing driver understands the road, understands their car, and understands how they interact. They are safer to those around them on public streets than other motorists.
