Franky is a model year 2000, BMW 328i (E46) vehicle, which was built at the former BMW Mexico SKD plant in Toluca. When Franky reached the final quality check ant the end of the production line, a geometrical defect was found in the lower left A pilar, likely cause by transport damage. The car was deemed unfit for customer sales and was included in the company fleet. More than 20 years an 246,000 km later, the car was transfered to Plant San Luis Potosi to be restored by its apprentices and employees. This video features the fully restored and re-sprayed car and includes comments from plant staff which were involved in its restoration.

Franky a BMW 328i travels was produced in 2020 in the Toluca SKD plant, the first BMW plant in Mexico. Now Franky travels from Toluca to its new home in San Luis Potosi to be restored by the apprentices of the dual program.

BMW 507 - Driving shots / Studio shots / Historical photos / BMW 507 and prototypes (Villa d'Este 2005) / BMW 3200 Michelotti Vignale / BMW 507 prototype ("Loof-Prototype") / Statements Holger Lapp, Head of BMW Group Mobile Tradition: BMW 507 prototype, BMW in the 1950s, Giovanni Michelotti / Statements Adrian van Hooydonk, Director Design BMW Cars: BMW 507 / Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2005: flight over the Lake of Como, Villa d'Este seen from above, general shots of the competition / Hispano-Suiza H6B Cabriolet (1928) / Piccadilly Roadster (1927) / Duesenberg J Convertible Sedan (1931) / BMW 507 (1957) / Jaguar SS 100 (1937, owner: Peter Kraus, German singer and entertainer) / Statements Peter Kraus / Lancia Flavia Coupé (1964, owner: Claude Picasso, son of Pablo Picasso) / Statements Claude Picasso / Villa D'Este: details and flags / Alfa Romeo 6C2300B (1938) / Rolls Royce Phantom I Piccadilly Roadster (1927) / Bugatti 35A, Grand Sport (1926) / Peter Kraus and his wife in the Jaguar SS100 (1937) / BMW 328 Roadster (1938) / BMW 507 (1957) / Jury / Lancia Flavia (1964) / Alfa Romeo Canguro (1964) / Cups and badges / BMW 507 / BMW 507 Prototype ("Loof-Prototype") / BMW 3200 Michelotti Vignale / BMW 501 Sechszylinder "Isar 12" with police siren / Honouring the Ferrari 212 Export Spider Vignale (1951) / Statements Albrecht Graf Goertz, Designer of the BMW 507 (from 2001).

BMW Group Plant Munich is ready for the production of the next vehicle generation. The manufacturing equipment has been installed in the new body shop and assembly line, and functional checks have been successfully completed. During this so-called "Common Function Test," every system undergoes dry runs, in which production planners and plant technicians put the machinery through its paces. All production steps are executed without any parts in the system. Cycle by cycle, an invisible vehicle takes shape. Although no actual car is produced, this process provides the certainty that everything operates seamlessly and as planned.

The online video shows the last 20 years of the BMW Group plant in Leipzig, from its history through the past to the present.

Design explanation of the MINI Paul Smith Edition

Video: MINI and Paul Smith at the Japan Mobility Show 2025.

Video: MINI and Paul Smith at the Japan Mobility Show 2025.