Which engineer designed the BMW R32 motorcycle?

Max Friz designed the BMW R32 motorcycle, BMW's first production motorcycle and the foundation of its famous boxer-engine tradition.

Friz was an engineer who had previously worked on aircraft engines, including the BMW IIIa. After World War I, restrictions on aircraft production pushed BMW toward new products. Friz developed the R32 around a 494 cc horizontally opposed two-cylinder engine, with the cylinders extending across the frame for effective cooling.

The R32 debuted at the 1923 German Motor Show in Berlin and used several features that became BMW signatures: a longitudinal boxer engine, shaft drive and a unit-style engine-and-transmission arrangement. Its engine produced roughly 8.5 horsepower and allowed a top speed of about 95 km/h, impressive figures for the period.

The key distinction is between Friz and later BMW engineers. Paul Rosche became famous for high-performance automobile and racing engines, while Alex von Falkenhausen was associated with BMW car engineering. Neither designed the original R32; that achievement belongs to Max Friz.