Following on from my last blog article about my visit to BMW World. This blog article, part 2 of 2 will involve sharing my experience at the BMW Museum in Munich.
Myself and my friends walked over the bridge to the BMW Museum after visiting BMW World which you can read about here.
BMW Headquarters pictured left and BMW Museum on the right
On arrival, we were met by some classic BMWs in the foyer.
Classic BMWs in the foyer
There were large queues to gain entrance to the exhibit due to the fact it was on a Sunday before a bank holiday in Germany and it was also the last weekend of Oktoberfest taking place in the city. Myself and my friends queued up for 20 minutes with the queue snaking up the spiral staircase.
BMW Museum prices were €10 for adults and €7 for students, BMW Club members, children, senior citizens and disabled persons. There were also discounted entry rates for groups and families.
The museum is a labyrinth of corridors and exhibit rooms that gradually lead to the ground floor where the exhibition opens out to a large open space.
A tower of BMW 5 series
The museum includes drawings, pictures, memorabilia, engines, motorcycles vehicles, design concepts and many other iconic and historic BMW artefacts.
A room showing the evolution of BMW 3-series was one of the larger rooms during the museum visit. It was interesting to see the change in design over time whilst the vehicle continues to maintain recognisable 3-series features such as the kidney grills in the centre of the front bumper.
Ascending view of BMW 3-series
Descending view of BMW 3-series
I was a big fan of the first generation 3-series cabriolet produced between 1975 and 1983. I think the angular lines of the white E21 BMW give it a really strong look coupled with the four headlights and sharp nose.
A very artistic and intricate timeline piece hung from the ceiling showcasing every BMW produced car through the use of car badges.
Timeline of BMW production through the use of badges
Timeline of BMW production through the use of badges
BMW motorcycle wall
There was an iconic BMW 600, the four seat microcar produced by BMW from 1957 until 1959, based on the BMW Isetta two-seater. Both of these vehicles feature access to the driver and front passenger seat by the entire front end of the car hinging open along with the steering column and wheel.
BMW 600
BMW Isetta
A clay 3 series and cross section demonstrated the design process in the centre of a room with information on each of the four walls.
Clay 3-series
Cross section of BMW 3 series
One of my favourite vehicles on display was a silver BMW Z8.
5,703 Z8 models were built between 199 and 2003.
The Z8 features a 4.9L V8 engine. Only 143 were registered in the UK in 2003, that figure is down to just 63 today. Prices of the BMW Z8 ranged from between £70k and £100k back in 2003 and sell today for anywhere between £100k and £250k depending on condition and model. Not a bad investment for a driven, 10 year old car.
It was the BMW Z8 that was sliced in half lengthways in the James Bond film The World is Not Enough by the helicopter saw.
BMZ Z8
BMW Z8
BMZ Z8
BMZ Z8
Z8 interior
Z8 interior
Also in the central area was a striking red BMW Z1. The 2 seater sports roadster BMW Z1 has a unique feature whereby the doors retract vertically down into the door sills. 8,000 BMW Z1s were made, each one being left hand drive. You can pick one up today for between £30k and £70k depending on age, condition and mileage.
BMW Z1
BMW Z1
BMW Z1 interior and retracting doors
A separate room housed a collection of BMW M vehicles.
First was a BMW E46 M3 CSL. Only 1,400 of these were made as a final hurrah for the M3 in 2004.
The CSL has a lot of different components in comparison to the standard BMW M3 E46 including 19″ lightweight cast BBS alloy rims and semi-slick Michelin Pilot Sport Cup racing tyres in addition to weight reductions including a carbon fibre reinforced plastic roof, redesigned suspension, racing springs and dampers. “M track mode” setting was added and the engine output increased by 17hp. Larger air intake, refined exhaust and exhaust valves are just some of the performance features. A lightweight body kit, carbon fibre front splitter and carbon fibre rear diffuser was added alongside the raised trunk lid lip and redesigned interior. The only transmission option available was the SMG II transmission which is capable of shifting gear in 0.08 seconds.
BMW M3 CSL
BMW M3 CSL
BMW M3 CSL 19″ BBS alloy
Rear view of the BMW M3 CSL
The only colour’s available for the BMW M3 CSL were Silver Grey Metallic and Black Sapphire Metallic. As you can see this one was in the latter, Black Sapphire Metallic.
A shiny red BMW M3 E30 was also on display in the room of M vehicles. The E30 M3 was produced between 1985 and 1992 and weighs 1360kg. The BMW M3 E30 features a naturally aspirated 2.3L engine that produces 300bhp and later a 3.0L engine that increased power to 380bhp.
BMW E30 M3
BMW E30 M3
BMW E30 M3
Next to the red E30 M3 was a dark silver BMW E28 M5. On sale between 1985 and 1988, the E28 M5 features a 3.5L 6-cylinder petrol engine and a 5-speed manual gearbox. With a production of 2,191 E28 M5s, this remains the rarest regular production BMW Motorsport cars after the BMW M1 (457) BMW E34 M5 Touring (891) and the BMW 850CSi (1510).
BMW M5 E28
A dark blue BMW M635 CSi featured behind the red E30 M3. There are just 100 of these registered on UK roads today . The BMW M635 CSi was introduced at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1983. It shares the same tweaked straight 6, 3.5L M88 engine as the BMW M1 and features a top speed of 158mph. The M635 CSi was produced between 1983 and 1989.
M635 CSi with twin central tailpipes
An rare inka orange BMW M1 was at the very back of the room. The M1 was the first ever mid-engined BMW to be mass produced, the second being the more recent BMW i8. Hand built between 1978 and 1981, only 457 were built and this is only the second one I have seen in person. The first was in a UK BMW garage back in 2011. The 2-door coupe is not related to the BMW 1-series which started production in 2004. There are a handful available for sale online, expect to pay around £500k for the pleasure of owning one. There is a M88 engine for sale online advertised at £40k.
BMW M1
BMW M1 alloy
BMW M1
BMW M1
BMW M1
Towards the end of the museum was a dark room which included a BMW Vision Efficient Dynamics concept car. This is a plug in hybrid concept car with a three cylinder turbo diesel engine and two electric motors with 139bhp. The Vision Efficient Dynamics concept car can accelerate from 0-60mph in 4.8 seconds and is limited to a top speed of 160mph.
BMW Vision Dynamics Concept
BMW Vision Dynamics Concept
BMW Vision Dynamics Concept
BMW Vision Dynamics Concept interior
Unfortunately I couldn’t talk about every vehicle on display. If you are a BMW fan or car enthusiast, I would highly recommend paying BMW World and BMW Museum a visit if you happen to be in Munich.
I hope you enjoyed my account of the BMW Museum in Munich. Check out part 1 to see my visit to BMW World.
Have you been to BMW World or Museum in Munich? What were your favourite BMW’s on display?
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