Introduced in 1972, the 5 Series altered the trajectory of BMW as an automaker. This excellent short film by BMW tells the story with teutonic efficiency.

BMW’s 5 Series, the company’s first grown-up touring sedan, if you will, helped to define the automaker as we know it today. “The first generation of the 5 Series was a big step toward modernity,” says historian Florian Moser of the BMW Classic Center. “It established a new BMW design language. It was bigger, more comfortable, sportier, and basically superior in any way compared to its predecessor.” Many trademark BMW features, right down to the three-digit model-naming scheme, originated with the 5 Series.

This first generation of 5 Series sedans, known internally as the E12 and produced from 1972 to 1981, set the stage for all the 5 Series models to follow. With the latest 5 Series, the seventh-generation G30, arriving in showrooms any day now, BMW took the opportunity to produce this short film, and it’s an great little primer on a critical product in the German car maker’s history. Enjoy the video.