- "German manufacturer of luxury automobiles. Precision-engineered status symbols for rich people."
- ―Description at Bawsaq.com.
Übermacht (German for 'Predominance' or 'Overpower') (BAWSAQ: UMA) is a German automotive and heavy construction equipment company featured in the HD Universe of Grand Theft Auto. It is likely a parody of the German automobiles manufacturer BMW. The player can buy stocks from them in the Bawsaq.com website in GTA V.
Overview
Every Übermacht vehicle is derived from BMW designs, (except the Revolter, which is based on the Cadillac Escala concept) usually with different bumpers and grille, as opposed to BMW's trademark "kidney grille". The term Übermacht is German for "supremacy" or "superior", likely a jab at real-life BMW owners having a feeling of superiority over the other marques when driving. Just like Benefactor, the cars have modified versions, in reference to BMW's in-house tuning division, BMW M GmbH. The tuning division is known as "XS", which sounds like "excess", again a pun on BMW's over engineering. However, like Benefactor, most of the modifications are purely aesthetics. An Oracle ad parodying BMW's ad style is seen on billboards around Liberty City, including one at Star Junction.
In GTA IV, the logo is seen as a diamond with five spiked pillars in the middle, but in GTA V, the logo is seen as a circle with the same spiked pillars on cranes and billboards, suggesting it is a new logo (identical to BMW's circle). The old logo is used in most vehicles from the HD Universe, except for the SC1 and the Revolter, which assumes the new logo.
Vehicles
| Image | Vehicle | Style | Based on (HD Universe) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The Oracle in Grand Theft Auto V. | Oracle | Executive sedan | BMW 6 Series Gran Coupé | |
 The Oracle XS in Grand Theft Auto V. | Oracle XS | Executive sedan | BMW 7 Series (E65) | Named Oracle in Grand Theft Auto IV. Renamed to Oracle XS in Grand Theft Auto V after the Heists Update. |
 The Rebla in Grand Theft Auto IV. | Rebla | SUV | 2003-2009 BMW X3 | Grand Theft Auto IV exclusive. |
 The Revolter in Grand Theft Auto Online | Revolter | Luxury sports sedan | Cadillac Escala Concept | Added in The Doomsday Heist update for Grand Theft Auto Online. |
 The SC1 in Grand Theft Auto Online. | SC1 | Sports car | BMW M1 Homage Concept BMW i8 | Added in The Doomsday Heist update for Grand Theft Auto Online. |
 The Sentinel in Grand Theft Auto IV.  The Sentinel in Grand Theft Auto V. | Sentinel | Convertible coupe | BMW 330ci (E46) (GTA IV) BMW 335i Cabrio (E93) (GTA V) | Also available in a modified "XS" variant only in Grand Theft Auto IV. |
 The Sentinel Classic in Grand Theft Auto Online. | Sentinel Classic | Sports car | BMW M3 E30 | Added in The Doomsday Heist update for Grand Theft Auto Online. |
 The Sentinel XS in Grand Theft Auto V. | Sentinel XS | Sports coupe | BMW M3 E92 | Based on the Sentinel. |
 The Zion in Grand Theft Auto V. | Zion | Sports coupe | BMW M6 E63 | |
 The Zion Cabrio in Grand Theft Auto V. | Zion Cabrio | Sports cabriolet | BMW M6 Convertible (E63) | Based on the Zion. |
Logos
Übermacht has had a variety of different logos that have changed through time in the HD Universe of Grand Theft Auto.
(1990-2013) Diamond logo
Übermacht's earliest known logo is the red diamond shaped logo. This logo can be seen on most Übermacht vehicles except the Revolter and SC1. It has three spikes on the bottom pointing upwards and two spikes on the top pointing downwards resembling a mouth with sharp teeth.
The logo made its first appearance in Grand Theft Auto IV, though chronologically the logo is first used on the Sentinel Classic, which would mean it has been in use since the late 1980's or early 90's.
The logo appears to be disused after 2013, having been replaced by a new logo which appears at several locations in Grand Theft Auto V.
Vehicle badge variant.
A variant of the logo can be seen on an advertisement for the Oracle XS and an official Grand Theft Auto Online advertisement for the Sentinel Classic, lacking the red colour in the middle. The font of the stencil text consists of sharp edges, with spikes pointing out of it in several directions matching the spikes on the original logo. Possibly influenced by either medieval or norsemen culture, it can be considered as a reference to Übermacht's real-life counterpart BMW, for its products being both sporty and aggressive.
Apart from said advertisement, this variant is only used for vehicle badges.
(2013-2017) Round Logo
De-coloured.
Until 2017, Übermacht has its logo shape changed from previously a diamond to a circle, making it more similar to BMW's logo and even closer to that of Volkswagen. The logo still keeps the teeth-like spikes in the middle, though the colour scheme has been changed from red to blue, with the placement flipped over altogether. It also gained a second grey circle to contain the coloured parts. The logo's font is more simplistic and formal for a modern typeface.
This logo can be seen on a billboard advertising the Zion in Morningwood. Contrary to the in-game version, the Zion on the billboard wears this newer badge on the hood. Moreover, a more plain, single coloured version of this round logo can be found on the cover of Übermacht catalog books and Übermacht-manufactured construction cranes, while the text logo is featured on the BAWSAQ stock exchange website as Übermacht's logo.
Unused Logo
This unused logo was made by Grand Theft Auto V's lead graphic designer Steven Walsh and can be found on his portfolio website.
The logo is the most drastically different Übermacht logo featuring the diamond shape but also containing another diamond shape on the inside with a round Übermacht logo inside using a different design on the teeth. The logo also contains the Übermacht text on the inside.
(2017-Present) Black and Blue Logo
The newest Übermacht logo is first debuted as part of the Doomsday Heist update for Grand Theft Auto Online.
The logo may look like a recolour of the 2013 logo but it has some grey metallic lines separating the new black and bright blue colours and outlining the logo. The colour change makes the logo look more futuristic and sporty than the previous iterations.
The logo appears on the two newest Übermacht vehicles, the Revolter and SC1. The traditional stencil text is not present on either of these two vehicles, however.
Gallery
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Trivia
General
- There is an advert for the Zion in Morningwood with the text "DISOBEY", and under it "The Design of Driving" which is a hint of its rivalry with Obey, which may be a parody of a billboard rivalry between BMW and Audi in Los Angeles around 2007.[1] Another one is placed on top of a building in Downtown Vinewood, coincidentally placed in front of an Obey billboard.
- The Oracle, Sentinel and Rebla represent the original BMW model lineups (7-series, 3-series and X-series).
- The names of three Übermacht vehicles could be reference to the movie The Matrix. The Oracle is a reference to the computer program that helps humans fight the machines, the Zion is a reference to the last human city, and the Sentinel is a reference to the machines the humans are at war with.
- The Zion and the Sentinel appear to be sister vehicles, the Sentinel appears to be a smaller version of the Zion and the vehicles share similar design cues. Similarly to the real life version, the BMW 6 series appears to be a bulkier, more luxurious BMW 3 series convertible.
- The Übermacht's slogan "The Design Of Driving" is a pun to the real-life BMW's "Sheer Driving Pleasure".
See Also
- Sentinel Tuning Division (STD) - a division of Übermacht.
