Home » Cars Brands » Car Brands That Start with B

Car Brands That Start with B

By Adrian Vroom

|

Published on

We all love cars, don’t we? Sure, each of us might prefer a different car brand, a certain feeling behind the wheel, more or less performance, features or space. Nonetheless, there are plenty options for each of us out there, but have you ever stopped to think about how many of your favorite vehicles were manufactured by companies whose names start with the letter B?

Call me curious, but I here to find out, hence this long list ahead of us. Let’s see how many car brands starting with B you know as well. We’re kicking off this list with the most famous brands:

BMW

BMW 5 Series
BMW 5 Series

Karl Rapp, Camillo Castiglioni, Franz Josef Popp and Gustav Otto have left their mark forever on automotive history as the founders of Bavarian Motor Works, or simply BMW, a company that began its activity back in 1916. The German car and motorbike company is one of the most highly praised and innovative car brands in the world.

BMW has been known to unveil numerous incredible cars over the years, from iconic small city cars to family saloons, SUVs and even powerful sport cars,  BMW took the world of sports cars by storm, although some still remember their early-day motorcycles, some of which are still ‘alive’ today.

Don’t forget that this renowned German automaker was also one of the first companies to enter the EV market, and they’re doing fine in that field as well. Nothing but good things happens to a company that innovates. Speaking of good things, we also have to mention the:

BMW M Division

BMW M4 Competition
BMW M4 Competition

Dedicated to high performance and everything fast on a race track, this BMW subsidiary has been around since the 1970s. Founded in 1972, the M division is based in Munich, Germany and works its magic on most of the company’s cars.

BMW M GmbH was initially created to facilitate BMW’s racing program, a massive success if we’re being honest. However, these days the specialists from BMW M have been known to develop and release some pretty outrageous vehicles into the wild. And we love each and every one of those models.

There is a wide selection available to BMW fans, and everyone will admit that the M badge means true magic for any driver looking to experience some serious thrills.

Bugatti

Bugatti Chiron Super Sport
Bugatti Chiron Super Sport

Automobiles Ettore Bugatti was a German and then French car manufacturer founded in 1909. Focused on delivering high-performance cars, this brand became very popular for its beautiful and fast vehicles. But in 1947, Ettore Bugatti passed away and slowly but surely, the brand died with him, or didn’t it?

The story goes on because in 1998 the Volkswagen Group revived the brand as a subsidiary. You know the rest of this success story, don’t you? Immediately, Bugatti took over the world with its incredible Veyron supercar, and there was no surprise that the bold 1001-hp became an instant hit.

Bentley

Bentley Continental GT Speed
Bentley Continental GT Speed

Founded back in 1919 by W. O. Bentley, this legendary British car company designs, develops, and manufactures luxury cars. Mostly hand-built, the company’s vehicles have been recognized as outrageous, to say the least, not to mention a bold statement of social status – this isn’t what we’d call a medium-class sedan.

A subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, Bentley Motors is the ultimate British motor company and one of the most appreciated automotive brands on the planet – the Continental may be the most popular or recognizable car from the manufacturer’s lineup, but there are plenty of cool and unique vehicles throughout the company’s history. Feel free to choose your favorite.

Buick

Buick Envision
Buick Envision

The upscale automobile brand for General Motors, Buick has always been a very popular name, at least on the North American market. This company has been marketed as a premium brand, selling luxury vehicles, although they’re not really comparable to European vehicles selling for the same amount of money.

Stylish, spacious and sometimes powerful, Buick cars and the brand itself stand as legacy to American automotive building techniques and concepts about what a car should look and feel like.

Brabham

Brabham BT62
Brabham BT62

Jack Brabham is the only man in history to have won a Formula 1 world title driving a car of his own design. His racecar company, Brabham Automotive, also known as Motor Racing Developments Ltd., became one of the most successful British racing car manufacturers the island has seen and even managed to score big time as a Formula One racing team.

Founded in 1960, this company is quite familiar to Formula One enthusiasts and professionals. It was responsible for various technical innovations and, by using powerful engines built by the Australian Repco company, Brabham went on to win three world titles and the constructor’s title. Not bad, for a name few people has ever heard.

Since then Brabham Automotive also took over the streets and unveiled numerous sports cars with radical designs and extreme performances. 

BAC

BAC Mono
BAC Mono

Designing road-legal sport cars isn’t just for everyone, but it seems that the brilliant team over at BAC has done something right, since they’ve been working on the ultimate lightweight sports car from 2009. Based in Liverpool, United Kingdom, Briggs Automotive company (or simply BAC) became popular the minute their Mono vehicle was revealed.

This single-seater, road-legal sports car has reached every automotive enthusiast around the world, and it’s safe to assume that this car was designed to put a smile on drivers’ faces. Does anyone remember the Mono being featured on Top Gear? Just check it out.

Brabus

Brabus Rocket 900
Brabus Rocket 900

There is plenty to be said about Brabus, isn’t there? Everyone’s favorite car tuner started working their magic back in 1977 and they didn’t look back ever since. The Germans started as a Mercedes-only tuning shop, and managed to develop extreme machines and even claim quite a few world speed records.

Brabus GmbH focuses its attention on Mercedes-Benz, Smart and Maybach vehicles and has been actually a Daimler AG subsidiary since the 1990s. The company began with Bodo Buschmann wanting to customize his own cars since he realized no one would bend or break the rules. So, why not start his own car tuning brand?

What resulted is pure magic, with every true automotive or speed fan drooling over this brand’s creations. Have you decided on a favorite yet?

Baldwin-Mercury

Baldwin-Mercury Special
Baldwin-Mercury Special / supercars.net

Does anyone remember the 1949 Baldwin-Mercury Special? Willis Baldwin built this race car, which even made it on the cover of a popular car magazine at the time. A mixture of Ford and Mercury parts was put to very good use, resulting in a unique and very interesting vehicle.

Built around a 1946 Ford frame, this racer featured a Mercury clutch, a Mercury V8 end and Ford steering rank, with the engine custom built by Willis. Willis Baldwin ended up spending 12 months building this car, but his dream of making his own car company stopped a few years later. 

Yet the very same car was resurrected in 1990 and showed up at the 2003 Pebble Beach Concours and a few Monterey Historic Races. One thing’s for sure – there’s nothing like the pure expression of passion for driving.

Baldwin-Motion

Baldwin Motion Phase III Camaro
Baldwin Motion Phase III Camaro / mecum.com

Baldwin Motion had been started in 1967 from the partnership between Baldwin Chevrolet, a company based in Baldwin, Long Island, New York, and Motion Performance, originally founded in a Sunoco service station in Brooklyn, New York. If you’re into insane street muscle cars, the name Baldwin-Motion should pop on your radar instantly.

Baldwin-Motion cars were in a league of their own, offering fans outrageous made-to-order vehicles. They were among the fastest semi-production cars in the US, and what resulted was nothing short of automotive magic. The cars from Baldwin-Motion were so fast in fact that, by 1974, the DOJ and EPA shut them down and threatened with $50,000 in fines per car manufactured if the brand would not back down.

Feel free to look them up, but meanwhile, the Baldwin-Motion Phase III Camaro before you should be enough to prove just how cool the brand’s creations were. Here, we have a high-performance 525-hp racer powered by a 454 cubic inch V8 custom built for this specific project. Who could say ‘no’ to that?

Ballot

Ballot 3 8 LC
Ballot 3/8 LC / classicandsportscar.com

Ballot is a defunct French car manufacturer, although the brand was initially focused on the development and building of engines. However, things quickly changed and between 1919 and 1932 Ballot even built automobiles to anyone willing to pay for it.

Édouard Ballot became well known for imagining reliable engines – so very much so, that he was even invited to collaborate with Ettore Bugatti in developing one of his first engines. You are welcome, Bugatti fans.

As said, this brand hasn’t been around for 90 years, but it’s still remembering the small names that made a big difference.

Beck

Beck LM 800 supercar
Beck LM 800 / supercars.net

Beck, with no relation to the artist or the very popular German beer, is a Swiss car manufacturing company which aimed to create world-class sports cars, particularly concept cars and prototypes.

Those of you who closely follow Geneva Motor Show premieres may remember the Beck LM 800 supercar, a 650-hp beast featuring a sleek body that was inspired by a Formula One car. There is no way you could forget this car with a radical design like that.

Kevlar, carbon fiber and aluminum were used in the construction of the chassis and body; that, combined with all of those ponies, results in a seriously-impressive supercar.

Benz

Benz Victoria
Benz Victoria / habsburger.net

Benz & Companie Rheinische Gasmotoren-Fabrik was a German car manufacturer founded by none other than Carl Benz. It all started back in 1883, with this company recognized for developing the first-ever commercially available automobile in history.

As you can imagine, the company has continued to expand and evolve over the decades, but by 1926 it had merged with Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft. Mercedes-Benz was born and from there a long line of impressive and technologically-advanced vehicles followed – before, during and after World War II.

It would take quite a while to detail the innovations that Mercedes-Benz brought to the world, but it all started with Carl Benz and his first automobile company. 

Berger

Berger Chevrolet Camaro Z28
Berger Chevrolet Camaro Z28 / motorious.com

Berger has been modifying Camaros since the 1960s heydays of hot rods and pony cars. It celebrated its 35th anniversary model in 2002, the year when Chevrolet announced it was discontinuing the Camaro.

This company is known for being an American premier dealership of Chevrolet cars. But what really drew people in was the fact that the brand went on to design, develop and produce a very limited and special series of Camaros between 2000 and 2002 and yet again in 2010. The first series saw a total of 150 Berger Camaros sold and delivered to enthusiasts all over the USA.

The 2010 Limited Edition Berger Camaro had a 6.2 Liter V8 Supercharged engine hiding under the bonnet, good for about 550 hp and 475 lb-ft of torque. It featured a chambered stainless Cat Back exhaust system, a revised suspension, including New Progressive Rate springs, custom rally stripes, SS fender badges including the 2010 SS logo, Berger numbered dash plaque and more.

A Berger Camaro doesn’t come cheap. Modifications add nearly $20,000 to the $40,000 price tag for the Camaro 2SS RS.

Bertone

Bertone Mantide
Bertone Mantide

Founded back in 1912 by Giovanni Bertone, this Italian company went on to impress the world for a bit more than a century, having been defunct since 2014. An automotive legend, this car brand is known for its classic Italian car styling and coachbuilding, easily recognizable across some of the most famous cars ever.

Bertone has worked alongside huge names – of Italian origin or not – such as Mercedes Benz, Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Ferrari, and more, to create re-styled limited editions of their popular cars. As such, it’s surprising that the company went bankrupt in 2014.

During the 1980s and 1990s, kids and adults alike were left in awe at the sight of some of this company’s unusual and incredible designs.

BF Performance

BF Performance GT660
BF Performance GT660

BF Performance is another German car tuning company, this time focused on modifying Lamborghini supercars (but not only Lambos) according to customer needs and preferences. A quick visit on their official webpage will make it clear – they will work their magic on any Lamborghini car.

Just purchase one and find out. As you try to decide just how mad you want your supercar to look, it is well worth mentioning that the shop will not be adding technical modifications or upgrades to your vehicle. But there are other tuning shops that will cater to that specific need, so it’s all good.

Bisimoto Engineering

Bisimoto E935
Bisimoto E935

Bisimoto Engineering is an American tuning company, but not the kind you’ve been used to. Bisi Ezerioha founded this shop back in 1995, with the company focused on developing radical engine designs. During its activity, the brand has joined forces with the likes of Honda, Hyundai and Porsche and what resulted were some impressive hybrid and turbocharged cars.

Innovative and with a keen eye for details and automotive passion, Bisimoto Engineering has been recognized as one of the top-notch engine design and tuning companies on the planet. However, things have changed in these last couple of years.

It seems that the company looked towards the future and saw electric cars rule the world. As such, it will now convert your favorite supercar into an electric beast, and trust us when we say – you haven’t seen such acceleration and performance from an electric car, until now.

Bitter

Bitter CD
Bitter CD

In 1971, Erich Bitter decided Schwelm, Germany, would be home to a premium sports-luxury shop for vehicles produced in Germany and Austria. His new company, Bitter, focused on creating body kits and designing new aesthetics for vehicles such as the Opel Adam, the Opel Cascada and Opel Mokka.

Founder Erich Bitter was a racing driver who decided modifying cars would be one good way to spend the time. He also tried working with Italian manufacture Intermeccanica to create the next best German sports car, but it not go as planned. If you’re wondering if the shop is still active, we will not reveal anything. Feel free to look them up.

Blake

Studebacker Avanti II
Studebaker Avanti II

Does the Avanti name ring any bells? This car was a big thing a few decades ago. Regardless of that, it was sold to Stephen Blake in October 1982. As such, there was a name change in order, and that’s how Blake automotive came in effect from 1982 to 1986.

Stephen Blake bought the rights to the Avanti II, although by 1986 he would give up on the company. Meanwhile, Avanti vehicles appeared at the Miami, Washington, and Los Angeles Auto Shows.

The original design of the Avanti was not altered, although Blake had a few ideas on how to make these vehicles look more performance-oriented. There were even some convertibles built, although they did not prove to be a success.

BNC

BNC 527 Monza
BNC 527 Monza / Franco Vannini / wikipedia.org

B.N.C. – or Bollack Netter and Co – was a small French automobile company made famous by their production of cyclecars during the 1920s. They also went on to develop a few great racing vehicles in that period. B.N.C. was based in Paris, at Avenue de Paris 39, and was founded by engineer Lucien Bollack in 1923.

The company wanted to produce large passenger cars and ultra-light racing cars, but the timing was pretty bad. B.N.C. failed to anticipate the Great Depression, with the company revealing an outrageous vehicle, called Aigle, just a few days before the stock market crashed.

Bobsy

Bobsy Racing Cars SR3
Bobsy SR3 / supercars.net

Bobsy Racing Cars is a funny-sounding name; be that as it may, this is where Jerry Mong designed and produced race cars between 1958 and 1976. Mong began developing race cars during the 1950s and his work was not overlooked. He built two identical cars from 1961-1962 and that’s when the spotlight reached his shop.

Because of the success of his first cars, the world looked towards him whenever people thought about fast race cars. How many cars did they build? No one knows for sure, since the company didn’t always assign a chassis a number and records weren’t important to them – only performance was.

The original SR-1 cars are famous even today, because they put the Bobsy name on the map. Ordered by the Heir brothers, these two mid-engine cars featured fiberglass bodies and aluminum tube frames. The deal was this: the Heir brothers would supply all the materials and get one of the cars, while Jerry would keep the other one. The rest is history.

Bolwell

Bolwell Mk VIII Nagari Coupe
Bolwell Mk VIII Nagari Coupe / Photo by Jeremy / wikipedia.org

Bolwell is an Australian company that used to develop sports cars between 1962 and 1979. This car brand became popular for its superb design lines, excellent development, engineering and more. But even though its story ended pretty fast, there’s a new company bearing the same name that started producing new cars in 2009.

That’s how Australia’s most successful exponent of classic sports car concepts is still active, although it would seem their ideas might come from the past – at least from an aesthetical point of view. They are still worth checking out, though.

Borgward

Borgward Isabella
Borgward Isabella / RM Sothebys

This iconic car manufacturing company was once based in Bremen, Germany, and started production back in November 10, 1890, which makes it one of the oldest car manufacturers in the world. The company produced cars under four different brands: Borgward, Hansa, Goliath and Lloyd, but by 1961 all operations came to a halt. 

Borgward Group AG was revived in 2008, although the company now designs and markets vehicles manufactured in China. A sad ending to a innovative beginning, but at least the company is still around to talk about.

Breckland

Breckland Beira
Breckland Beira

Breckland Technologies is British sports car company founded in 2000, with the relatively recent brand focused on designing and building love-volume specialist sports cars. Some of their more popular models include the Leading Edge 240 RT and Mosler MT900 vehicles. Sadly, we must say that by 2009 this story had come to an end, shortly after the company’s announcement of the new Beira car.

The Breckland Beira featured GM’s own 6.0 L V8 LS2 engine, that was good for about 400 ponies, as well as a Tremec six-speed manual gearbox. However, there are no known deliveries to talk about.

Bricklin

Bricklin SV 1
Bricklin SV 1 / mecum.com

Bricklin Canada Ltd. General Vehicles Inc. was a car manufacturing company started in 1972 in Canada, of course. Founder Malcolm Bricklin had a dream about building a safe and economical sports car, that would be sold exclusively on US soil.

The Bricklin Canada assembly plant was located in the Grandview Industrial Park in Saint John, New Brunswick, and Bricklin SV-1 is what made this company popular, mainly because it had gull-wing doors. A Canadian-built two-seat sports car, this car was only built between 1974 and 1975.

The SV-1 – or safety vehicle one – looked good on paper, and in real life as well. However, quality control problems, as well as a series of unmotivated price increases, let to its quick demise. These days, fans seek them out and customize them according to their preferences.

Bristol

Bristol Bullet
Bristol Bullet

Bristol Cars, a British manufacturer of hand-built luxury cars, was always focused on low-volume bespoke car manufacturing. As such, the company managed to maintain an avid and loyal clientele. Headquartered in Bristol, England, this company had only one sales showroom. 

But the original division is long gone and since 2011, the company has been restoring and selling older models of the marque.

Brooke

Brooke Swan car
Brooke Swan car

This British company is based in Lowestoft, Suffolk, and I doubt you’ve ever heard of it. Focused on sports cars, Brooke is associated with British engineer Robert Nicholl “Scotty” Matthewson.  So, what Brooke cars have you heard of, besides that famous Swan Car? None, and neither have we.

It seems that the brand hasn’t disappeared into the void though. Brooke still produces one model, the Double R, a lightweight two-seater powered by a 2.3-litre Cosworth engine, with 400 horsepower! We haven’t seen it in action yet, but we would sure love to.

Brun Motorsports

Brun Motorsports 962C
Brun Motorsports 962C / racecarsdirect.com

Brun Motorsport GmbH was a Swiss auto racing team founded by driver Walter Brun. Everything started in 1983, with this being a Porsche privateer team in sports car racing at the time.

By 1992 it had dissolved, but the brand did become a full-fledged chassis constructor and went on to take part in various international championships – they even won the 1986 World Sportscar Championship and took Le Mans events by storm.

Their 1989 Brun Motorsports 962C vehicle made history. This Porsche 962 variation featured a tough aluminum honeycomb/carbon composite chassis, with Brun race engines built and maintained by Porsche Motorsport in Stuttgart.

Speaking of which, this car had a 2,649 cc air-cooled Boxer-6 powerplant, packing twin KKK turbos and a fully-electronic Bosch injection. A 5-speed gearbox made sure all of the 620 ponies made it onto the track, allowing the car to reach a top speed of 349.2 km/h (217 mph). Remember, this was in 1989.

Bucciali

Bucciali TAV 12
Bucciali TAV 12

Brothers Angelo and Paul-Albert Bucciali founded Bucciali, a French automobile manufacturer that was active between 1922 and 1933. These car visionaries pioneered modern technologies while designing their vehicles, such as front-wheel drive and independent suspension.

In October 1928, the 22nd Paris Motor Show saw the arrival of the Bucciali TAV-6. It featured front-wheel drive and infinitely variable automatic transmission. Everything was on display, as the Bucciali stand had its vehicle in bare chassis form, enabling visitors to see how the magic was happening.

You should remember the name, as this French company looked towards automotive future and brought it into its present.

Bufori

Bufori Geneva MKVI
Bufori Geneva MKVI

Bufori is a brand of hand-built automobiles inspired by American 1930s coupes, owned by three Australian Lebanese brothers – Anthony, George and Gerry Khouri. Back in 1986, Gerry Khouri wanted to build three special sports cars for his garage, one for each of the brothers. This is how it all started.

The company’s main shop is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This is where over 100 talented and dedicated craftsmen work their magic each and every day to make Malaysia’s most luxurious cars. Each Bufori car is made to order and built by hand, according to customer preferences and whims.

Brammo

Brammo Ultima
Brammo Ultima

Since 2002, this company has been developing electric vehicles. Based in the US, Brammo, Inc. focuses on the creation of electric traction motors and traction batteries, mostly working on motorcycles, but they’ve also unveiled some sports cars too.

Available in the United States, Europe, and Asia, these bikes will surely offer some old-school riders new experiences and sensations. But have you heard about the Ultima GT? Originally designed to be powered by a naturally aspirated Falconer V12 engine, this project ended up becoming an electric GT meant to take on the Tesla Roadster.

Bowler

Bowler Wildcat
Bowler Wildcat / silodrome.com

Is anyone reading this into off-road racing? You should be, as off roading is always very exciting, and the vehicles are usually outrageous. Speaking of which, this is where Bowler comes into play. Since 1985, the UK-based company has been rolling out some incredible projects.

Bowler designs off-road racing vehicles based on the Land Rover Defender and Range Rover chassis. One quick look at their designs and technical specs, and you will be into off-road racing. We guarantee it.

There you go. These are all the car brands starting with B. Do you know any other companies starting with this letter?

About Adrian Vroom

As a child, Adrian was fascinated by anything and everything car related. Years went by and he found himself more and more in love with cars. It wasn't just about their good looks, speed and power, it was about the freedom they represented, the thrills and joy they provided and the ton of options that were available for every type of person out there. Learn more about GCB's Editorial Process.

Leave a Comment