The most powerful letter in the world is celebrating its 50th birthday and the BMW Museum in Munich is joining in the celebrations: On the occasion of the founding day of BMW Motorsport GmbH on May 24, 1972, the new BMW M exhibition has opened exactly fifty years later.
When BMW Motorsport GmbH was founded half a century ago to bundle and further professionalize all of BMW's racing activities, nobody could have foreseen its unique success story. Just newly developed, the BMW 3.0 CSL won the European Touring Car Championship in 1973. Since then, BMW M has produced milestones in motorsport, technology and design, the history of which is vividly and excitingly embedded in the history of the Bavarian manufacturer as a new exhibition in the BMW Museum.
Race track as a museum course
On the BMW M course, which is modeled on a racetrack, visitors pass through large parts of the museum: "We have deliberately integrated the eight "BMW M" stations into our permanent exhibition in order to highlight the anniversary of BMW M everywhere," says Helmut Käs, Head of BMW Group Classic, explaining the concept: "This is not a classic temporary exhibition, but we are setting outstanding accents within the museum. For example, in the 'Visions' room, which is actually about future topics, we have created a stage for the most successful racing touring car in early BMW motorsport - the BMW 3.0 CSL - flanked by the BMW 2002 turbo. This is also a symbol: both vehicles are part of our tradition, from which we are shaping tomorrow."
Motorsport is still the essence of BMW M today
In another seven rooms, the special exhibition highlights various aspects such as the history of racing touring cars, the BMW Individual manufacture, the complete M story with background information on the typical colors, the logo and the anniversary logo launched in 2022. Special aspects such as the BMW Art Cars and BMW driver training, which would not exist without BMW M, are also highlighted. In addition to the iconic BMW M1 and BMW M3, the exhibits also include design concepts, prototypes, BMW M classics and victorious racing cars such as the BMW V12 LMR, which give a sense of what the brand is all about: "This motorsport gene from the early days is still in BMW M today," says Jochen Neerpasch, co-founder and first Managing Director of BMW Motorsport GmbH from 1972 to 1980: "The brand owes its dynamism, passion and performance to motorsport. Phenomena such as lightweight construction, aerodynamics, optimized engine performance or a reinforced chassis still characterize M vehicles today."
Guided tours and workshops for children
Those who know a lot, see more. According to this motto, the one-hour guided tour through the permanent exhibition, which currently has a special focus on the BMW M stations, is well worthwhile. The BMW Junior Museum has come up with something special to get 9 to 14-year-olds excited about BMW M: it offers exclusive, two-and-a-half-hour BMW M anniversary workshops entitled "Join the M Team!". The young participants
meet up-and-coming talents from the BMW Junior Team and learn about historic victories and important vehicles. They complete small tasks and create their own BMW M designs with an airbrush, which can be exhibited in the museum and taken home.
The BMW M Motorsport exhibition at the BMW Museum runs until the end of 2022.
