The German original is a play on "etwas auf die Beine stellen" which means "to get something done", "to accomplish something." Since the wordplay cannot be translated adequateley, any phrase that expresses the underlying meaning is okay.

BMW launched more than crotch rockets: ...
BMW brought more up to speed than wheels: ...

Just my 3 suggestions.

BMW put wheels under a lot more than just ...


I'd say; "to get the ball rolling" is wrong here; it means "to begin/start sth."

@#3
dude, I think you misread the original. The listed items are examples of what BMW "has put on wheels".

I'm not sure I get your point, PPD.

Uh-oh, das gibt Ärger. PPD, weißt Du denn nicht, was der dude beruflich macht?

... ich verstehe 'hat weit mehr auf die Räder gestellt' wie:

... has got a lot of more things ready/operative . . .

The OP mentions motors: Parallel-Twins, Vierzylinder und neuerdings sechszylinder, all of which one can put wheels under.

...I see - In this case, I think the preceding sentence(s) would have helped to understand the text faster and I claim it should have read:

"BMW hat weit mehr auf _ Räder gestellt" - No 'die' . . .

Yes, dude, but you say "a lot more than just", indicating that BMW's additional achievments will be enumerated in subsequent sentences. The OP, however, has a colon after the first part, meaning that this is a list of examples in which BMW already has excelled, presumably in contrast to something that was mentioned earlier.

Sorry, I misunderstood you then. Yes, you're right in that case. I guess it depends on what the OP means exactly.