Woodcliff Lake, NJ – March 8, 2013… BMW’s
rich heritage will be showcased at the Saratoga Automobile Museum in an
exhibition called “BMW – The Ultimate Driving Machine.” The exhibition, which
will feature a retrospective of BMW cars and motorcycles, will run from May 6 –
November 3, 2013. The array of BMW automobiles will include road cars and race
cars, both from the modern era, as well as pre-war. The exhibition will also
celebrate 90 Years of BMW Motorcycles.
“This exhibition at the Saratoga
Automotive Museum will provide visitors a great look at BMW’s long heritage and
provide a sense of how the company has evolved to become the leading premium
automobile and motorcycle manufacturer in the world,” said Ludwig Willisch –
President and CEO of BMW of North America. “It will also show just how integral
motorsports has been throughout the company’s history.”
“This exhibit
looks to be one of the best we’ve ever had at the Museum,” said Museum Chairman
Charlie Montano. “ Working with BMW to create this one of a kind auto experience
in upstate New York was thrilling,” continued Exhibit Committee Chair Alan
Rosenblum. Exhibit Committee member Bob Bailey added “Both BMW of North America
and our local dealer, Keeler Motor Car have contributed hours of time, effort
and resources to make this a reality”.
The display of BMW automobiles
will feature the marque’s most renowned prewar model, the BMW 328. The 328
dominated the racing scene in the late 1930s and early 1940s and will be shown
both in road form as well as a custom-bodied 328MM, prepared for the Mille
Miglia, one of the most vaunted endurance races of its day. The 1950s saw BMW
produce such divergent models as the Isetta “bubble” car as well as the 507
Roadster, designed by Count Albrecht Goertz. The exhibition will include the
spiritual successor to the 507, the BMW Z8 which arrived in 2000 – 45 years
after the 507.
For many, the car that put BMW on the map in the US was
the 2002, which received wide-spread media attention, including a review in the
April 1968 edition of “Car and Driver” entitled “Turn Your Hymnal to 2002”. The
higher-performance 2002tii, introduced in 1972, will be featured.
On
March 21, 1975 just days after BMW of North America was founded as a subsidiary
of BMW, a BMW 3.0 CSL won the 12 Hours of Sebring at the hands of Brian Redman,
Sam Posey, Hans Stuck and Alan Moffat. A 3.0 CSL similar to that Sebring-winning
car will be included. That car was fourth of four factory FIA Group 2 CSL cars
built for 1973 German Touring Car Championship. Dieter Quester and Toine
Hezemans won the European Sedan Championship with this car in 1973. It is
thought to be the car that won the 24 Hrs of Spa (1973) with Quester and
Hezemans driving. It was sold to John Buffam (US) in December 1973 and by Hurtig
Team Libra in the 1974 season. The car is currently owned and made available to
the museum by Scott Hughes.
BMW’s racing success continued in the 1970s
with the BMW 320 Turbo with which driver David Hobbs scored four wins in 1977-78
in the IMSA GT series. It was powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four cylinder
engine capable of 600 horsepower. That engine was the test-bed for the 1,200 hp
engine that powered Nelson Piquet to the Formula One World Championship in 1983.
Many current BMW models are powered by the latest-generation of 2.0-liter
TwinPower Turbo 4-cylinder engine that combines a unique blend of performance
and efficiency.
Today, BMW M is widely recognized as the pinnacle of
performance but in the 1980s, it was all new. One of the first M cars to arrive
in the US was the 1988 M5. It was based on the second-generation BMW 5 Series
Sedan and powered by 3.5-liter inline six similar to the engine used in the M1
super car.
The second generation BMW M5 stunned the racing world when the
large four-door Sedan took to the track in the IMSA Super Car series… and won! A
mate to the car that David Donohue drove to the 1994 Super Car Championship will
be part of the exhibition.
The mid-1990s also saw the introduction of the
second generation BMW M3, which will be featured. The BMW M3 took to the track
in the US in 1995 and began an era of motorsports success that lasted for more
than 15 years and spanned three generations of M3. In fact one of BMW M3 GTs,
which competed in the American LeMans Series from 2009 – 2012, will also be on
display.
BMW’s two-wheeled heritage will also be a key part of the
exhibition. “BMW’s motorcycle heritage dates back even farther than its
automotive heritage,” stated Peter Nettesheim, renowned BMW motorcycle
collector, curator of the motorcycle portion of the exhibit, and operator of the
Nettesheim Museum in Huntington, New York. In 2013 the company celebrates 90
years of BMW Motorcycles. In the 1920s BMW quickly earned a reputation for speed
and reliability. The use of an opposing-twin “boxer” engine and shaft drive,
unique in those early days, remains in use today on many models of BMW
Motorcycles. The exhibit will feature three motorcycles from the 1920s including
a 1925 R32, the first model, as well as a 1928 R63, featuring a 750 cc engine
and a 1929 R62 Touring model which established BMW’s reputation for producing
motorcycles ideally suited to long distance travel, a reputation that remains to
this day. 1929 saw the first racing championships for BMW on two-wheels, a trend
that continues to this day.
Also featured will be a 1931 R16 and a 1934 R11
with a stamped-steel frame. One highlight of the exhibition will be an
unrestored military 1942 R12 found in a barn in France.
A 1955 R25/3
featuring a very economical single-cylinder engine is an example of a model best
suited for a recovering post WWII Germany. Throughout its history BMW
motorcycles have gained a solid reputation for authority use, even here in the
United States. A 1969 R60/2 German "Polizei" police motorcycle will represent an
earlier example.
BMW Motorcycles have been widely known for their
two-cylinder engines, a legacy which continues to this day. A later example can
be seen in the R100RT on display.
Innovation is every-bit a hallmark for
BMW Motorcycles as it is for BMW automobiles. In the 1980s BMW gained a
reputation for the performance and smoothness of its 4-cylinder motorcycle
engines. In 1989, BMW became the first manufacturer to offer ABS brakes on a
motorcycle. In the same year, BMW also introduced the K1, it was the most
aerodynamic motorcycle on the road, which will also be seen in the exhibit. That
innovation can be seen today with BMW’s first-ever super bike, the
S1000RR.
About the Saratoga Automobile Museum
The
Saratoga Automobile Museum is a not-for-profit education institution located in
Saratoga Springs, New York and dedicated to preserve, interpret and exhibit
automobiles and automotive artifacts. The Museum is open seven days a week from
10 AM to 5 PM from Memorial Day to Labor Day and closed on Mondays after Labor
Day. For additional information, visit
www.saratogaautomuseum.org.
BMW
Group In America
BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the
United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing
vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include
marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor
vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and the Rolls-Royce brand of
Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, a strategic design consultancy in California; a
technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the
country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group’s
global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all X5
and X3 Sports Activity Vehicles and X6 Sports Activity Coupes. The BMW Group
sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 338 BMW
passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 139 BMW motorcycle
retailers, 116 MINI passenger car dealers, and 34 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers.
BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is
located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.
Information about BMW Group
products is available to consumers via the Internet at:
www.bmwgroupna.com.
Journalist
note: Information about BMW and its products in the USA is available to
journalists on-line at
www.bmwusanews.com.
Do yourself a favor.... put on the headphones, crank up the volume, and enjoy!
