18 March 2021

This time the video clip series Inside BMW Group Classic came as a guest to a place where passion for high performance is at home: the BMW M Studio in Garching just outside Munich. A location where the adrenalin levels of all speed merchants are guaranteed to rocket sky high. The hosts present a sports car of superlatives that never ever hit the road as a series model – the BMW M8 prototype developed at the beginning of the 1990s. When the first BMW M8 was launched in the marketplace in 2019, BMW M GmbH took the high-performance experience to a new level. Less well known is the fact that 30 years previously, the engineers at BMW M GmbH had already conjured up a BWM 8 prototype based on what was at the time the BMW 8 Series Coupé – strictly under wraps of secrecy, of course. The view under the bonnet gives the game away: high performance was the absolute top priority in the specs. The heart and soul of this car is the 6.0 litre V12 engine. The intake system made entirely of carbon fibre is the real surprise. At the beginning of the 1990s, the prototype would have been virtually peerless with engine power of up to 640 hp. By way of comparison: The most powerful BMW 8 Series at the time, the BMW 850CSi, packed 380 hp.

His stories are often off the wall but always entertaining. Writer and columnist Wladimir Kaminer (“Russian Disco”, “My Caucasian Mother-in-Law”) has the reputation of being a keen observer of everyday life and all its quirks. He took a tour of the vehicle collection at BMW Group Classic in Munich on the lookout for awesome stories with the wow factor from the world of the automobile. Ralph Huber, Head of the Museum and Communication at BMW Group Classic, took the author with German and Russian heritage on a trip down memory lane through the company’s treasure chamber and turned the pages to the most exciting chapters in the annals recording BMW’s model history. The journey of discovery was the brainchild of the Drivers Club by BMW Bank and it took Wladimir Kaminer to those legendary classics – from the BMW 328 through the BMW Isetta and BMW 507 to the BMW 3.0 CSL. The tour went to the very roots of the company with development defined by striving for innovations, the enthusiasm for progress and consistent development of Sheer Driving Pleasure.

One place, three fascinating locations: The BMW Group Event Forum combines unique spatial concepts for individual event experiences and premium digital occasions at BMW Group Classic, the BMW Museum and BMW Welt. Alongside an ideal environment for conferences, product presentations, webinars, training and broadcasts, the premium locations offer the ideal stage for streaming digital concerts. Just take the aero-engine hall where more than 100 years of BMW’s company history come together at BMW Group Classic to create space-age infrastructure for a livestream event. Historic original exhibits from the vehicle hall are guaranteed to create a sensation in the imposing space of 700 square metres. A forum for big events. And this literally is the case. After all, the first BMW engines were built in this hall. At the time they powered aircraft. Today, this truly historic location plays host to events.

The communication team at BMW Group Classic is brand new – new personalities and new roles. Last year, Christoph Gontard already stepped up to take over the position of Head of Marketing and PR at BMW Group Classic. He has been working in publicity at BMW Group Classic since 2015, headed Classic Brand Management for MINI and Rolls-Royce, and also Club and Community Management. Previously, Gontard had occupied various positions since 2005 in marketing and sales at the BMW Group. He is now joined by Marc Thiesbürger as Press Spokesperson at BMW Group Classic. Thiesbürger has been working at the BMW Group since 2010, first in the Department for Press and Marketing at the BMW subsidiary in Munich before moving to electronic media for Group Communication and Politics at the “Four Cylinder” head office. Since 2017, Marc Thiesbürger has been part of the team at BMW Group Classic, where he was most recently responsible for automobile and motor-sport history of the BWM brand. In his new role, Thiesbürger succeeds Benjamin Voß, who held this post for six years and has now moved on to head BMW & MINI Club and Community Management, Classic Brand Management MINI. The new team is looking forward to continuing to use their expertise and commitment to support the representatives of the media in their work in future.