To mark the 50th anniversary of the BMW M brand, the German automaker will not only introduce a series of limited edition models, but also a new roundel inspired by the classic “BMW Motorsport” logo. Our article from yesterday focused exclusively on the European market, but as always, the U.S. customers will have a different choice. According to BMW of North America, all the BMW M models (M3, M4, X3 M, X4 M, X5 M and X6 M), with a production date from March 2022, will have their vehicle’s front, rear and wheel hubs adorned with by this classic roundel logo.

The logo will be optionally available on BMW M performance models (M340i, M440i, X3 M40i, X4 M40i). Yet, if you order your car with just the M Sport Package, then the new logo will not be available for you. This unique offer in the history of BMW M will be available for order from the end of January 2022. We reached out to BMW of North America to ask about the option to separately purchase those new roundels. “We expect the anniversary emblems to also be available as an accessory/part item,” a spokesperson told us.

Back in 2020, we wrote a story on the origin of the BMW M colors. Over the years, there’s been a lot of debate as to how BMW M decided on its colors for the now-iconic three stripes. If you were to ask BMW right now about the meaning behind the M stripe colors, the answer would be that the blue represents BMW, the red represents motorsport and the violet is a mixture of the two, hence why the violet is sandwiched in between the blue and red. However, there’s actually a longer, more interesting story behind how BMW came to use those colors and, while more complex, the aforementioned meaning is still somewhat true.

According to the motorsport historian for BMW Group Classic, Marc Thiesbürger, the origins of the three M stripes actually have to do with a previously potential partnership between BMW M and Texaco, back in the early ’70s. Back then, BMW was attempting to partner with Texaco, as a sponsor for the brand’s motorsport endeavors. During talks with Texaco, but prior to the deal being finalized, BMW M decided to court Texaco by producing a new racing livery with its potential partner in mind.

So the now-legendary three-stripe BMW M livery was born. The blue represented both BMW and the Bavarian flag, while the red represented Texaco, as it was the brand’s primary color. The dark blue was a combination of the two. This was BMW’s attempt at showing solidarity with its hopefully soon-to-be partner at the time. However, the deal with Texaco ended up falling through and the two brands never actually worked together.

Despite that, the livery looked so good and was adored by the BMW M team, so it stuck around and the Bavarians stuck with the aforementioned alternative meaning, with red representing motorsport instead of Texaco.

In addition to the refreshed BMW roundel, 50 iconic and historically significant BMW M paint finishes will be offered for selected models in the anniversary year 2022. Style-defining colors such as Dakar Yellow, Fire Orange, Daytona Violet, Macao Blue, lmola Red or Frozen Marina Bay Blue refer to the various eras of BMW M’s 50-year history.