Uitgebreide verbouwing van BMW Test Center op de Nürburgring.

Munich / Nürburg. Conducting tests on the most demanding track in the world,
the Nürburgring Nordschleife, has always been a matter of course for BMW. After
all, this track - respectfully referred to by many as the "Grüne Hölle ("Green
Hell") - provides a highly concentrated dose of all levels of difficulty
confronting an automobile in everyday road traffic.

BMW test drivers have been permanent guests here since the sixties, using a
former BMW dealership as their base. In 1991, the building once owned by BMW
dealer Willi Martini was taken over by BMW, and the rooms were also used as a
base for the BMW Motorsport Team. Activities for the German Touring Car
Championship (DTM), Super Touring Car Championship (STW), ADAC GT Cup and
various 24-hour race entries were all part of the program here, as well as the
technical and organisational co-ordination for the popular BMW Ring Taxi.

However, as time went on the premises and facilities became overstretched and
extensive reconstruction was finally necessary. During a three-year period of
reconstruction, the BMW Test Centre at the Nürburgring was turned into a
building site and now the facility has officially gone into operation as the
third site of BMW M GmbH.

In three construction phases since October 2003, modern high-tech workshop
facilities have been created which enable BMW AG and BMW M GmbH to test cars
for serial production readiness and develop new vehicle projects directly on
the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

The workshop area in particular has been significantly enlarged as compared to
the previous facilities. Formerly comprising only four car lifts, the premises
now comprise a now a total of eleven workplaces with car lifts including a new
wash hall, a new wheel alignment facility and a so-called one-way street
system. Thanks to induction loops and a sophisticated barrier system, it is now
possible to go through the workshop facility without crossing an intersection,
which also creates more space in the interior of the BMW Test Centre.

To ensure that all staff feel at home, a new leisure wing has been added with a
common room, and the team base has also been refurbished. Since test results
and protocols have to be transmitted quickly to the research centres in Munich
and Garching, technicians and engineers now work in a generously sized office
with some 30 computer workplaces.

Finally, two exhibition and conference rooms have been created, the reception
area has been separated and renewed and the exterior redecorated. All in all, a
total of 870 square metres of building space has now been increased to 1,178
square metres and 5,131 cubic metres of refurbished space has been expanded to
9,000 cubic metres.

Thanks to this reconstruction project, which has been carried out without
imposing significant limitations on ongoing test operations, BMW AG and BMW M
GmbH now have a test centre which fulfils all modern requirements and which
will demonstrate BMW's pioneering test expertise at the Nürburgring for years
to come.