I bet you did know this fact about all BMWs since the BMW 1500 (pictured below). There is a ‘Kink’ in every BMW vehicle design and most people use the name but have never known of its origin. The Hofmeister kink as it is famously known is an automotive design feature seen on modern BMWs and automobiles by other manufacturers. The feature consists of a low forward bend at the C-pillar or D-pillar in the case of touring vehicles or SUVs.
Among the first cars to feature this design trait were some 1949 General Motors 2-door cars, as well as the 1958 Lancia Flaminia Sport Zagato and the 1961 Lancia Flavia Coupé. Despite it being used broadly across automotive makes, the term “Hofmeister kink” is generally used in reference to automobiles designed by BMW it later appeared in.
The first BMWs to feature it were the BMW 3200 CS and the BMW 1500 shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1961 and was later named after then-BMW director of design, Wilhelm Hofmeister. In early models, the widened base of the C-pillar sometimes featured the BMW roundel.
Not just for style and design, the Hofmeister kink is a statement by BMW to say that all BMW models have rear-wheel drive.
