Happy New Year’s Eve from Munich.
There are only two things you need to know about this city. Everyone drives a BMW and everyone speaks German. I thought the last one wouldn’t be a problem for me since I had taken 168 classes with Professor Hans Georg Schultz at the Robert E. Hogan University in Hammelburg. But as it turned out, pronouncing English words with a German accent doesn’t cut it.
Anyway, at BMWland, which is 30 minutes by free train (just like Melbourne trams are free until the ticket police come on board) there are four worlds: BMW Welt (entry is free), which is a huge new car showroom without the balloons, BBQs and in-your-face sales, finance and accessory persons; the BMW Museum; the BMW factory; and the BMW head office.
In fact, apart from the BMW shop (where you can buy a BMW Cruise M Bike made from aluminium with spring loaded forks for optimum shock absorption for only $1450, and who says I don’t write enough about bikes?) and Bobby Brauer’s two Michelin starred French restaurant on the first floor (where I had the local speciality, Irish short ribs, washed down with a bottle of 2008 Walporzheimer Krauterberg Spatburgunder GG trocken, all up $290 including a much-needed chauffeur-driven BMW 7 series back to the hotel) it’s hard to find anyone in the Welt to talk to you about any of the Beemers, Minis, Rollers or motorbikes on display.
Look, in the whole of BMWland there’s not much hands-on excitement except for BMW On Demand in BMW Welt. Just show your licence, pay $300 and drive any machine you like. Because you don’t believe me, listen to what Melbourne reader Anthony Aspiridis has to say.
“I rented an M4 Coupe from BMW (from BMW Welt) for the Sunday afternoon. You’re right that it’s one of the world’s best kept secrets, isn’t it?
“The young BMW dude who introduced me to the car asked where I was going. When I told him I just wanted to drive an autobahn he kindly set the satnav to make sure I got one of the best roads in the land.
“All I recall was that the town was about 120km away and I arrived there in about 30 minutes!
“The car? Just phenomenal. Speed and power, sure, but the cabin roar really took me by surprise. Not many cars have had me cheering out loud, alone, but this one did. Actually under about 110km/h I was a little underwhelmed. Where was the brute force, and the handling didn’t feel THAT unique.
“Only once the car hit about 150km/h did it come to life, and I remembered what I was in and on what road.”
Thank you, Anthony and it’s our secret about Melbourne trams and Munich trains. The car I chose to rent was a nightie red super car but let me assure you my drive was well before Bobby Brauer’s Irish ribs and the GG trocken.
After the Welt, it’s a fair but pleasant walk to the BMW museum (I paid $15 because I refused to show my senior’s card) which is across the bridge and next to the factory (the $13 tour is highly recommended) which is itself in front of BMW global HQ, a building in the shape of four cylinders, that was clearly built during the past oil crisis or it would have 10 cylinders.
If you are a real car person or own a Beemer and wondered what all the fuss is about, then this is floors and floors of bliss. Up till tomorrow, it’s BMW’s 100th birthday, so group boss Harry Kruger and his team picked 100 engineering masterpieces for you not to miss because you didn’t read about it till today. It’s on until September 2017.
There’s the extraordinary, sexy and sensual Count Albrecht Goertz-designed 1955 BMW 507 roadster.
US BMW importer Max Hoffman wanted to fill the gap between the Mercedes-Benz 300SL and cheaper MGs and Triumphs. Max thought he could sell heaps at $5000, which he could have but given BMW was hand-building each of the V8 beauties, he ended up charging more than $11,000 and the factory lost money on every one.
Not surprisingly, only 251 made it out the door. In 2012, RM sold an immaculate 507 for $1.3 million. Today you’d pay $2.5m.
The exhibition is admirably straightforward about and “explicitly faces up to this dark chapter in its past” in talking about the company’s role in World War II and the use of slave labour.
Kruger wasn’t around so I couldn’t ask him why the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has just rated the headlights on some of his Beemers as marginal. In fact, the Toyota Prius was the only midsize car out of 31 tested to earn a good rating. The Merc C class lights were worse, coming in as unacceptable.
“If you’re having trouble seeing behind the wheel at night, it could very well be your headlights and not your eyes that are to blame,” says Dave Zuby, the institute’s chief research officer.
This is an abbreviated version of the original article. To read the rest go to: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/life/motoring/bmws-four-worlds-offer-floors-and-floors-of-bliss/news-story/64f2d25f9793172ef2bcc770f6fca16c
