Museum Celebrates World’s Most Iconic Bimmers in Washington
LeMay hosted the ‘Heroes of Bavaria – 75 Years of BMW Motorsports’ event, honoring 17 of the greatest BMW vehicles ever made.
Working with the BMW Car Club of America (BMW CCA) Foundation and the LeMay – America’s Car Museum (ACM), BMW of North America LLC helped launch the “Heroes of Bavaria – 75 Years of BMW Motorsports” exhibit at the museum on May 12 in Tacoma, Washington. Seventeen of BMWs most iconic bimmers from private collectors and the BMWUSA Classic Collection (owned by BMW NA) chronicaled and celebrated BMW’s storied motorsports legacy.
“BMW has been a forward looking company throughout its 100-plus year history and the race cars from our past truly exemplify the spirit of innovation and engineering that has made BMW what it is today” said Thomas Plucinsky, Head, BMW Group Product Communications and Head of BMWUSA Classic. “We are happy to share eight of our best BMWUSA Classic Collection race cars with visitors to the Heroes of Bavaria exhibit at the LeMay.”
Why Celebrating Bimmers Matters
Heroes of Bavaria was the brainchild of the BMW CCA Foundation last year and proved to be a popular exhibit for BMW club members and fans. “Who doesn’t love historic race cars? The premiere of Heroes of Bavaria was the buzz of the BMW enthusiast community in 2017, with people traveling from all over the United States and Europe to get a look” said Scott Dishman, Executive Director, BMW Car Club of America Foundation. “ACM’s debut of Heroes now brings the excitement to the west coast, and the Foundation is proud to have gotten it all started.” For its second major exhibit, the BMW CCA Foundation is preparing an exhibit titled THE ICON: 50 Years of the 2002. This exhibit will celebrate the legendary BMW 2002 model that cemented BMW’s reputation as a true driver’s car. “THE ICON: 50 Years of the 2002” opens on May 18.
“As proven by the extraordinary collection of race cars within Heroes of Bavaria exhibit, BMW rightfully earns the title of the ‘Ultimate Driving Machine.’ Their vehicles have been tried-and-tested on race tracks for the last 75 years,” said America’s Automotive Trust CEO Adam Langsbard. “We’re thrilled to be the first to display this unrivaled collection on the West Coast and share BMW’s many motorsports accomplishments with the hundreds of thousands guests who visit ACM each year.” Made possible largely through an ACM crowdfunding campaign, contributors will enjoy benefits including passes to the exhibit’s opening celebration, limited edition posters and books, private tours of the ACM collection and the ability to “adopt-a-winner.” One lucky individual can also purchase an exclusive one-day experience at a BMW performance driving school, where they will be able to learn about the theory, physics and mechanics of performance driving.
Live Discussion
As part of the festivities, ACM Master Collector Peter Gleason moderated a live discussion with notable BMW figures including:
- Bill Auberlen, the winningest factory race car driver in BMW history.
- Erik Wensberg, retired Motorsport and M Brand Manager for BMW of North America
- Thomas Plucinsky, Head, BMW Group Product Communications and BMWUSA Classic
“The Heroes of Bavaria exhibit celebrates the history of BMW racing by featuring noteworthy race cars beginning with the infamous 328,” said Keller. “The two-liter 328 – arguably one of the most successful sports cars of the 1930s – is just one of example of BMW’s motoring legacy, having achieved a class win in the celebrated Mille Miglia in 1938 and an overall victory in 1940.”
Other notable bimmers include the very first 1961 700 RS, a 1972 3.0 CSL Group 2 Rally Car – the only one of its kind – and a 2000 BMW. Williams Formula F1 driven by Ralf Schumacher in eight races, achieving three podium finishes during the 2000 season.
The rest of the collection, which rounded out the 16 total vehicles were:
- 1937 BMW 328 Roadster
- 1961 700 RS First Built 700 RS
- 1965 BMW 1800 TI/SA
- 1972 BMW 3.0 CSL Group 2 Rally #6 Rauro Aaltonen/John Davenport
- 1977 BMW (E21) 320 Turbo IMSA Group 5 #2 David Hobbs
- 1981 March-BMW 812 Formula 2 #5 Christian Danner
- 1981 March-BMW M1/C IMSA #2 David Hobbs/Mark Surer
- 1986 BMW 635i ‘John Player Special’ Livery #1
- 1987 BMW (E30) M3 Korman Firehawk Series #28 Davy Jones
- 1992 BMW (E36) M3 GTS-3 IMSA #07 ‘Valvoline’ Livery
- 1994 BMW (E34) M5 Bridgestone Supercar #2 David Donohue
- 1994 BMW (E36) 320i Super Touring #2 Paul Morris
- 2000 BMW.Williams FW22 Formula 1 #10 Ralf Schumacher
- 2011 BMW (E92) M3 GT IMSA Champion #56 Joey Hand/Dirk Mueller
- 2015 BMW (E89) Z4 GTLM IMSA ‘BMW NA 40th Anniversary’ Livery #25 Auberlen/Werner/Farfus
- 2017 BMW (F13) M6 GTLM IMSA ‘Bill Power’ Livery #25 Bill Auberlen/Alexander Sims/Kuno Wittmer
