Thrown into the mix to confuse is the Me-209 which held the speed record (the first, not the second, a different aircraft by the same name produced later), not broken until August 16, 1969 by American Darryl G. Greenamyer in a Bearcat. For international
PR and bragging rights the hierarchy (Goebbels?) named it the Me-109R, to give the impression it was a version of the fighter.
When the 109 first arrived on the scene it was also referred to as the B.F.W. Messerschmitt 109. Advertising by the factory in the press also referred to the 108 as the B.F.W. Messerschmitt Taifun. When the designer himself refers to the Bf-109 as the Me-109 who is going to argue.