BMW

Founded in 1916 as an aero-engine maker — the badge's propeller mythology came later — BMW built its first car in 1928 and its first great one, the 328 sports car, a decade after. The Neue Klasse saloons of the 1960s saved the company and invented its sporting-saloon identity; the M division, founded in 1972, perfected it, from the mid-engined M1 through the E30 M3, the most successful touring car of all time. Today the M lineage continues at full strength while the company stakes its future on a new generation of electric Neue Klasse models — and for collectors, the 328, 507, M1, E30 M3 and Z8 form one of the strongest blue-chip runs of any volume manufacturer.