There is a lot to see at the BMW HQ, you need to spend an entire day to make the most of it.
In my last column I shared my insight of driving in Europe and mentioned about my visit to the BMW HQ. As promised, here are some pictures and my experience of visiting the BMW Welt in Munich, Germany. As soon as I entered Munich, I spotted a few BMW test mules and that was something I always wanted to see. Good start to a good day ahead with lots of excitement.
First glimpse of the 4-cylinder BMW HQ building and I went numb. In that vicinity they have the headquarter building, museum area and right across the road there is BMW Welt open style architecture glass facade area where all the latest BMW Group cars are showcased. All of these buildings are interconnected and the architecture is mind blowing. There is a restaurant, BMW owners lounge, you can even schedule you car delivery there and experience some BMW cars on rent.
I kept all that for later, first I had to visit the museum and I could already smell the classics shining bright like new. There are cars right from the first lot of BMWs from late 1920s up to the latest and futuristic concept cars. There are some BMW Motorrad products on display as well but I was least interested in them.
It is a very well laid out museum and you won’t miss out on anything. You can freely explore the area and there is a lot to read and learn about BMWs out there. However, being an impatient Bimmer boy, I just drooled over the timeless designs of the classic machines standing there. What attention to detail they have and class apart mechanicals in the olden days. I saw the BMW M78 engine, which was their first straight-six petrol engine born in 1933. 1.2-litre engine producing 30 BHP and 68 Nm of torque.
There are some sections where they exhibit their design skills for both cars and bikes. There was a G20 BMW 3-Series clay model showcased in the design area, damn it looked so cool! It might look like an average design model in pictures but when you see it in flesh you realise how interesting the transition of design is from scratch to a full fledged production model.
Then they have this sweet little display of model line badges that changed over time. They started putting these on the boot lid since the 1960s to identify the model lines with a combination of numbers and letters. As we all know, 3 is for midsize cars, 5 for upper midsize cars, 6 for large coupes and 7 for luxury models. M, Z and X models were further added to convey the character of the car and size of its engine. Suffixed letters were later added to identify the type of engine, driveline and body style.
Now this was my favourite section in the BMW museum, the 3-Series lineup. Right from the grand daddy of 3er from 1960s to the latest one, which wasn’t even showcased since there is no additional space for the F30 and G20. My favourite 3 of them all you ask? It is the E46…. umm E90 as well, no, actually all of them are my favourite! Let me know in the comments section, which is your favourite 3-Series model?
While I was strolling around like a kid, I saw this extremely gorgeous 1968 BMW 2002 Ti in a bright orange shade and I got zoned out. It is not your regular classic Bimmer. This car is one of the reasons why BMW is a successful luxury carmaker today. The BMW 2002 made a mark across the globe becoming a huge volume spinner for the German carmaker in multiple markets. It had style, luxury, performance and a reasonable price tag that made it a desirable car for many.
Here comes the performance division formerly known as BMW Motorsport GmbH that was established in 1972. The first car from the M division was rolled out in 1978 as BMW M1. It was the first mid-engined BMW performance car to be mass produced having a 3.5-litre, 6-cylinder engine. My eyes were glued to the BMW M3 E30, what a sexy looking ride, specially in this red hot shade. Those round headlights, perfect size of the kidney grille and sporty body kit. It had a 2.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol engine producing 235 BHP at 7000 RPM and 240 Nm of torque at 4750 RPM mated to a 5-speed manual. Top speed rated at 240 km/hr!
After a heart thumping M Power section I saw this rare piece of art, the 1957 BMW 507 Roadster. It is one of the most rare machines in the automotive history. The gorgeous roadster had a production life of only 4 years and only 252 units were built. It was intended for the US market and ended up being too expensive for BMW as they faced heavy losses with this car. What a looker though! It had a 3.2-litre V8 under the hood, good for around 160 BHP.
Now after seeing all these beauties I regret visiting the last section of the museum. Future of mobility, autonomous, electric, concept car, hyrdo-cell, ‘i-Something’, tech, gizmos, etc. That part of the museum hit me hard, I asked myself, am I really in the vicinity of BMW HQ? That’s when I realised, the ‘future of mobility’ is quite grim for us enthusiasts, LOL! Jokes apart, that’s when I realised I was hungry since morning and I immediately looked out for the BMW Cafe.
Moving back to the BMW Welt mesmerising glass facade we tried to book an M car for rent, my eyes were on the new M8 Gran Coupe. Unfortunately they had no cars left for us to sample during that weekend, better luck next time. So there is a huge display of BMW Group brands including Rolls-Royce and MINI. The Spirit of Ecstasy looked gorgeous on the hood of the spanking new Cullinan (I didn’t say the Cullinan looked gorgeous). But yes, the design of the SUV grows on you with time (that’s what they say, I’m still waiting for that time).
There is a retro themed area for the MINI cars, where you can see the latest pocket rocket MINI Cooper S JCW and also the classic MINI cars. The picture you see here is of the MINI Classic, it was the first generation of the MINI Clubman. It might look sizeable in the picture but it actually is very small and I can’t imagine myself fitting in that car.
I checked out some of the latest BMW machines that were not launched in India back then. There was this new gen BMW 1-Series, X7 flagship SUV, M8 Gran Coupe and 7-Series facelift with a huge kidney grille. There is a huge shop as well, you get BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce branded merchandise, clothes, scale models, watches and what not. It’s a paradise out there and you have to visit this place once in your lifetime if you love BMWs.
