The idea to equip the flat twin engine with a supercharger came from the designer of the BMW R 37 race bike, Rudolf Schleicher. But after his departure from BMW, the concept was transferred to the racing mechanic Josef Hopf, closest confidant of Rudolf Schleicher, and the BMW works driver and German Champion of 1926 and 1927, Ernst Jakob Henne. The first engines ran on the test bench in 1928.
