As one of Germany’s best known and most respected automotive brands, BMW has a cult following unlike very few other marques.
Its products not only sell in huge numbers but its high-performance arm, the M division, is a class-leader and throughout the decades, has pumped out some of the best sports cars and sports sedans ever conceived.
Head-quartered in Munich, Germany, a visit to the BMW museum and its adjacent sales centre and factory has become a staple for anyone visiting the city, so proud are the locals of the automaker. While visiting the beer capital of the world last month, we did as so many others do and checked out the world famous museum and Welt sales center, both absolutely huge in scale and perfectly reflective of Munich as a whole.
The first thing that strikes you about both the museum and BMW Welt are not even the cars they hold but the incredible architecture of the two huge buildings, juxtaposing the surroundings and nearby 1972 Olympic Park. As BMW has grown, so has its museum, now incorporating multiple buildings across various levels in a mix of traditional and modern automotive technology.
First stop, BMW Welt. Sitting directly opposite Munich production facility, this huge sales center doubles as both a dealership and delivery center, where enthusiastic owners can choose to receive the keys to their new rides in unique delivery ceremonies. There are displays of almost every single car offered by the firm, including its Rolls-Royce and Mini brands, the first of which was displaying the brand-new Dawn, much to the delight of visitors.
To offer visitors the best possible experience, BMW has split the center into various segments dedicated to its different arms and multitude of offerings. There’s a small area with nothing but M-branded models, the highlight of which was certainly a glistening bright blue M2, fresh off the factory floor. It was joined by two of the most powerful and extreme SUVs on the market, the X5 M and X6 M, which while impressive to look at, did look somewhat out of place compared to the far sleeker and arguably more refined M4 Coupe and M2. There were also two sections reserved for BMW’s Individual department, revealing all the bespoke offerings from the company.
BMW Welt is so vast that it’s easy to get lost in there for hours on end but compared to the museum itself, it’s nothing.
Just across the street from the sales center, the museum fittingly displays some of the company’s greatest ever models from the iconic M1 and an original 3.0 CSL race car right through to a display of all six-generations of 3-Series. To any BMW fan, it really is unlike anywhere else on earth. Many of the models are so nice that they wouldn’t be out of place on display in some of the world’s leading art museums. The quality of models within the museum is so incredible in fact that even the firm’s latest official art car, based around the M3 GT2, has been tucked away in a secluded area between some storage lockers and the bathrooms.
Appropriately, the museum starts by tracing through the company’s past and its founding in 1916, with an example of the marque’s first car, the Dixi 3/15 predominately displayed alongside a plethora of other classic models. Of course, beyond being a manufacturer of class-leading cars, BMW has also been building motorcycles since 1923. As a matter of fact, the first BMW motorbike came out some 5 years before the 3/15 and to this day, BMW still produces some of the most well-rounded and high-quality bikes, from the insane track-focused S1000RR HP4 to all-conquering adventure bikes within the GS-family.
In a nearby room is certainly one of the museums highlights, the Le Mans-winning V12 LMR from 1999. Unlike some modern prototype racers, this V12 LMR is painted in a simple shade of white free of any intrusive and brightly colored liveries, stickers or sponsorship logos. It’s nothing but raw performance and downforce distilled into an insanely sleek package with an open-top cockpit that would surely provide driving thrills unmatched by its modern-day counterparts.
Near the V12 LMR were a plethora of intriguing eye-catching concept cars like the curious X Coupe of 2001 and the ahead-of-its-time, all-electric E1, effectively the precursor to the current i3.
In a special area dedicated to some of the company’s most famous and successful racing cars was a true icon of the racing realm, a 1975 3.0 CSL race car adorned with the company’s traditional white, red and blue racing livery. In the adjacent room was then an example of what was one of BMW M’s finest hours, the E30-generation M3, a car that has soared in value in recent years and to the keen observer, is a true classic in every sense of the word.
Guided tours of the museum are available but if you know your BMW history, a lengthy meander throughout is all that is needed to enjoy all the displays.
To list every model in the museum would be like reciting an encyclopaedia of cars but needless to say, Munich doesn’t just know how to create iconic cars and motorcycles but also what’s needed to create one of the world’s best automotive museums. This is definitely a place to put on your motoring bucket list.
Photos Brad Anderson/Carscoops.com
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