BMW Museum - Technology & Lifestyle

Whoops - we had posted already from the BMW museum here in Munich, but forgot to add this one about the "BMW Welt"!  So here it is.

The BMW Museum is obviously about the cars, but BMW also sends strong messages about the company as a technological innovator.  Plus the nearby "BMW Welt" (BMW World) emphasizes its role as a lifestyle icon.

The museum had a cool display of the different model badges over time (going bottom to top):

The next photo isn't even of a full-size car, but the concept is cool.  The body of this small-scale model is covered in 260 "scales" that can be individually raised and lowered.  Using the car's computer, the matrix of scales could be actuated in real time to either maximize efficiency (minimize drag) or create wind resistance and body pressure in specific locations that improve grip and handling.  They could also be solar panels that move with the sun!

Who wouldn't want this solar-electric futuristic BMW machine?  Not a lot of trunk space though...

BMW has also been a pioneer in hydrogen and hydrogen-hybrid cars.  The museum had their hydrogen racecar on display -- the BMW HR2 is the fastest hydrogen-powered car ever.  It produces 285hp with a top speed of 185mph.  Acceleration is listed as 0-60mph in 6 seconds.  It uses a modified 6-liter, 12 cylinder engine:

This technology is theoretically available in the BMW Hydrogen 7.  It's claimed to be the world's first production-ready hydrogen vehicle, but very limited production (only 100 were made, and no more planned).

In another room, the Museum had an interactive/multimedia table to show off BMW history.  The interface wasn't perfect, but certainly reinforced the message/feeling of BMW as technology-oriented (video below):

Here's a video of the "touch table" in action:

Of course, advertising is a key to building their brand image, and they had a room of print ads over time:

From the BMW Museum, we walked to the BMW Welt ("BMW World") just a minute away.  BMW Welt is not about the past, like the Museum, but about todays models (both cars and motorcycles) plus lifestyle and design products.

In the BMW Welt, Frau A took the chance to sit in a 640i cabriolet.  This is one handsome car (and gorgeous lady).  There was a bit of a wait -- lots of people wanted to sit in this car!

Sitting just outside the BMW Welt building were their motorcycles.  We also hopped on some of these - Frau A would definitely meet the polizei with this one (she's a bit of a lead-foot):

In addition to cars and motorcycles, BMW Welt also has living room concepts and products -- so you can have the BMW identity in every aspect of you life, either moving or sitting still.  (For example, they had 2 living rooms set up, one in modern decor and the other almost cowboy decor.  Strange.)

You can spend almost a whole day at the BMW Museum and nearby BMW Welt.  I know friends of mine from the U.S. would love to come visit... any day, guys!

BMW Museum - Art Cars

In the news recently, a BMW "art car" was sold for $770,000 at action:

BMW "art cars" are simply versions that have been painted by an artist.  The above is a BMW M1 painted by Frank Stella.  Luckily, the BMW Museum had a collection of many of their "art cars" on display when we visited (it was a "special exhibit").  We'll end our series on the BMW Museum by looking at some of these objets d'art.

The first art car was in collaboration with  Alexander Calder.  It's a BMW 3.0 CSL, 1975.  430hp.  This actually raced in Le Mans!  (Most are not really driven)  Calder did not paint this himself.  He painted a toy car, then a 1:5 scale model, and handed it over to BMW to replicate on the actual car: 

Frank Stella.  BMW 3.0 CSL, 1976.  Also raced LeMans.  Inspired by engineering drawings and charts:

Roy Lichtenstein.  BMW 320, 1977.

Andy Warhol.  BMW M1, 1979.  First artist that actually painted the car himself (rather than submit a scale model to car painting specialists).  Some paint is quite thick, creating texture:

 

Ernst Fuchs.  BMW 635CSi, 1982.  Called "Firefox":

Michael Jagamara Nelson.  BMW M3, 1989.  Rooted in / inspired from aboriginal patterns:

 

Ken Done.  BMW M3, 1989.  Motif partly based on the colorful parrotfish (so Frau A should like this one):

 

Matazo Kayama.  BMW 535i, 1990:

A.R. Penck.  BMW Z1, 1991: 

 

Sandro Chia.  BMW M3, 1992: 

David Hockney.  BMW 859CSi, 1995:

Jenny Holzer.  BMW V12 LMR, 1999.  This was my personal favorite, both for the car and the "art".

 

  

Here is a summary of the text on the car:

Top:  "Protect me from what I want"  (If you only see the hood, it simply reads "What I Want".  Very cool)
Seat:  "What urge will save us now that sex won't?"
Left:  "The unattainable is unvariably attractive"
Right:  "You are so complex you don't respond to danger"
Back:  "Monomania is a prerequisite of success"
Spoiler:  "Lack of charisma can be fatal"

Which is your favorite?  What artists should be the next to paint a BMW?

BMW Museum - the Isetta

At this point in our walk through the BMW museum, we've seen the motorcycles, the M-series room, and the section with luxury & cabriolet models.  Now for something completely different.

Another area shows two beloved BMW models from the 50s and 60s.  The theme is how cars are part of our lives -- walls are filled with photos of people with their BMWs, often families travelling through Germany, Austria, & Italy.

First is the BMW 2002Ti.  It's the forerunner to the modern 3-series, and from 1968-1976 defined the concept of a compact 2-door sports sedan.  Notice the car + lifestyle photos on the walls in the background:

BMW 2002TI (1968)

The next model was designed in Italy after World War II for a continent that still had low productive capacity and really needed only cheap short-distance transportation.  It's a "microcar" -- a small, egg-shaped body that uses a scooter/motorcycle engine!  It was called the Isetta.

The Isetta measures only 7.5 feet long by 4.5 feet wide.  It has a single bench seat inside (for 2 adults), and heater was optional.  Ventilation?  Open the fabric sunroof!

The two-cylinder engine produced 9.5hp, and was connected to a 4-speed manual transmission.  The rear wheels are only two feet apart!  The base is so narrow that it didn't need a differential.

Its producer licensed the design all over Europe, and between 1953 and 1962 it was made in different forms in Spain, Belgium, France, Germany, and even Brazil.  It kept some car companies from bankruptcy.

BMW Isetta (1955)

The Isetta would take 30 seconds to reach 30mph, on its way to a "top speed" of 47mph.  But it got at least 50 miles (reported up to 70) to the gallon.  And parking is a breeze. 

Here's a test:  We'll show a few more photos of the Isetta.  Do you see anything... missing or unusual? 

Look at the passenger's side:

Now look at the driver's side:

How does the driver enter the car??? 

Here's the driver's side from another angle:

Did you figure it out?

The answer comes from one of the old photos on the wall:

You enter the car from the front door!  You can see the handle better in the photo below.

The steering wheel and entire instrument panel swung out with the door.  What happens in the event of a front-end collision?  Passengers were told to exit through the sunroof!

First prototypes had only one rear wheel, but that made the car prone to tipping over - therefore a second wheel was added.  Eventually, different models emerged including a flatbed pickup version, a truck, and a fire engine.

Most of the info above pertains to the original Italian version of the Isetta.  When BWM licensed the design and tooling, they re-engineered it to use their own one-cylinder four-stroke motorcycle engine that delivered 13hp (+30% more).  In fact, none of the parts between the BMW version and the Italian model are interchangeable.

BMW first produced their Isetta in 1955, and by 1962 had sold over 161,000 units -- the top selling single-cylinder car in the world.

There is only one topic left from the trip to the BMW museum... coming soon.

BMW Museum - M series and Racing

Behold the M room.  Compared to the cars from our prior post on the luxury room in the BMW Museum, these models are just as elegant but pack much more muscle.

As we entered the room, we saw the guy below moving slowly between the cars.  He would examine each one, take out a polishing cloth and buff the car as needed.  That was his job!  (Notice the rag in his right hand and protective gloves?).  I have a friend for whom that would be the perfect retirement work too (I'm looking at you, Matthew).

Here's the one that started it all.  The BMW M1, only 455 made from 1978-1981.  As you might guess from the styling, this came from an agreement with Lamborghini to make a production race car.  Its twin-cam inline 6-cylinder provided 273hp, and was later modified and used in the first generation M6 and M5 as well (mid-eighties).  Turbocharged versions used on the race circuit delivered a whopping 850hp!

The rear has something unusual - twin BMW logos set left & right (rather than a single logo in the middle)!
FYI: the BMW logo is based on the pattern and colors of the flag of Bavaria.

In addition to the cars themselves, an entire section of the room was dedicated to the M-series engines throughout the years:

There were as many people in the engine area as with the cars themselves - a popular topic!  Here is the M88 engine from the M1 pictured earlier in this post:

Logically, the BMW Racing ("motorsport" in German) room was located near the M series room.  Racing motorcycles were in the motorcycle room - this was just the autos, and more focused on racing versions of production cars rather than Formula-1 machines. 

You might notice that the paint jobs on this series of racing cars mirrors the tricolor M logo:

The racer below is the BMW 3.0 CSL, a 1972 variant of the E9.  It is recognizable by the aerodynamics package:  a spoiler across the edge of the roof (before the rear window), a large tail wing at the back, and prominent side air scoops.  It was nicknamed the "batmobile" with all these extras.

in 1972, the 3.0 CSL notched a European Touring Car Championship plus a LeMans class victory.  Then from 1975-1979, a 3.0 CSL won the European Touring Car Championship each year.

Also, the 3.0 CSL was used for the first two BMW "Art Cars"... these are coming in the next post from the BMW Museum...

BMW Museum - Classic Luxury and Cabrios

At the BMW Museum, we shared photos from the motorcycle room, so now on to the luxury and cabriolet /convertable rooms.

The car on the left is the BMW 326, produced from 1936-1941.  "The first luxury-class BMW."  It had a OHV straight six, with innovative (for the time) hydraulic brakes and torsion bar rear suspension.  World War II only partially destroyed the factory, and production restarted briefly in 1946 during occupation (under the new badge BMW 326s).

On the right is the BMW 501, produced from 1952-1962.  This was the first new model by BMW after WWII.  The body weighed a lot more than anticipated, so the car's performance was not a good as the competing Mercedes at the time.  This spurred the development of BMW's first V8 engine.

The first luxury-class BMW.  This "saloon" also came in a cabrio version. 

As we mentioned in the previous post, the BMW museum is organized by topic rather than a pure timeline.  In this case, you can see the evolution of their luxury cars side by side -- into the 7-series of today.

Many of the luxury models also had a cabrio counterpart.  Below we see Frau A snapping a photo of the BMW 315/1 "sports roadster".   Only 242 were built, from 1934-1936.  Compared to its parent, the saloon 315, it weighted 180 pounds less but delivered 18% more horsepower (up to 40hp). 

The model behind Frau A in the previous photo is the BMW 328 sports car (I think).  It's innovations were a tubular space frame, and hemispherical combustion chambers in the engine.  Only 464 were produced, from 1936-1940.  Top speed was 93, and it finished 5th overall (and first in its class) in the 1939 Le Mans.

She particularly liked the detail and the old leather straps used to keep the hood closed.

Our favorite was the BMW 507.  Only 252 were build between 1956 and 1959, but a pre-production model made its debut at the Waldorf Astoria in New York, 1955.  They had hoped to sell a bunch in the U.S., but it ended up being twice as expensive as planned.  The Mercedes 300SL trounced it in sales.

It is primarily made of hand-formed aluminum (cool!), so no two models are exactly the same.  Despite the 2900lb curb weight, the V8 pushed it up to 122mph.

We really like the design (and so did Elvis - he bought one).  It was the inspiration for the limited production (and incredibly popular) BMW Z8 from 1999-2003. We see these on the autobahn from time to time and really like them.

The 80s were not forgotten, with the downward-retracting door of the Z1!  maybe not as cool as Doc Brown's DeLorean, but still fun.

This was a fantastic room at the BMW Museum.  Coming soon... the M Series!

BMW Museum - Motorcycles

On a recent, rainy Sunday afternoon Frau A and I went to the BMW museum.  We had already visited the Porsche and Mercedes museums in Stuttgart, but somehow always put off BMW even though it is local.  With 250,000 visitors per year, it's the third most popular museum in Munich (after the Deutsches Museum and Museum of Modern Art).

The BMW museum is basically next to the Olympiapark and use the same U-bahn stop.  The museum is the bowl-shaped building on the right below:

The tall building is the BMW world headquarters, in the form of a four-cylinder engine.

NOTE:  The BMW museum is different from the Porsche and Mercedes museum in that it is organized by topic rather than in a strict timeline format.  The timeline format is nice in that you see how technology developed, but the BMW format lets enthusiasts of specific product types get their fix in one room!

At the beginning of the museum it is clear that BMW is big on motorcycles.  They produced motorcycles exclusively for 10 years before building their first automobile.  Here is the first BMW:

BMW R32, 3000 were produced from 1923-1926. Two cylinder + over-head valve engine, 8.5bhp, capable 100km/h (62mph).

There's a YouTube video of an original R32 in action:

The museum is also quick to show BMW's technology and racing orientation, with lists of innovative "firsts" and record-setting performances.  The enclosed motorcycle below is the "WR 500" -- WR stands for "weltrekord" (world record), but this bike is also referred to as "Das Ei" (the egg).  It's top speed of 173.8mph was set in 1937 and this mark lasted 14 years (aided, of course, by the WWII period that was focused on other technological challenges).

In this room are more racing bikes, with and without sidecars!

The motorcycle rooms were packed - there seemed to be a lot of die hards that spent more time here than other places in the museum.  My favorite was the late 1990's "Cruiser", which could be described as a Harley-like BMW.

BMW R1200c "Cruiser". 1997-2004. 2-cylinder "boxer" (flat-twin) engine, 61bhp, reaches 168km/h (104 mph).

In the next posts, we'll move on to the automobile rooms...

And now that we've visited the Porsche, Mercedes, and now BMW museums, there is one big one left - Volkswagon in Wolfsburg (don't think Audi has a museum in Ingolstadt).  Maybe this winter...