Henry Ehlers
BMW WR 750
The first record ride by motorcycle racing talent Ernst Jakob Henne is captured here both ingeniously and surrealistically by the commercial artist Henry Ehlers. On 19 September 1929, Henne started off for the first time on a 750 cc supercharged machine in pursuit of a record for BMW. The attempt was successful at the first go: On the Ingolstädter Landstraße in Munich, Henne reached a speed of 216.75 km/h – a new world record. From then on, BMW had a catchy slogan that could be aptly used in advertising. “The world’s fastest motorcycle!” adorned posters, advertisements and brochures in prominent locations. Aware of the advertising impact, BMW did everything it could to defend this title. Ernst Henne then began collecting record after record. Finally, in the morning of 28 November 1937, the racing driver put an end to his career, setting a new record at the same time: He achieved a flying kilometre speed of 279 km/h, and 280 km/h on the way back. After that, Henne gave up chasing records. He held his title for almost 14 years.
