The BMW Group Classic at the Goodwood Revival 2011.

Note: This press release is a 1:1 copy of the original issued by BMW headquarters in Germany. No adaptations have been made to cater for the UK market  

Virtually no other historical motor-sport event transports visitors back to the flair and glamour of yesteryear as stylishly as the Goodwood Revival. The successful racing history of MINI and BMW makes the Goodwood Revival the focal point for presenting some fascinating vehicles taken from the illustrious past of both brands. “For BMW Group Classic, the Goodwood Revival is one of the highpoints in the classic calendar,” enthuses Karl Baumer, Director of BMW Group Classic, about the weekend in the South of England.

This year, two vehicles from Munich will compete for the St. Mary’s Trophy. A very new scion from the motor-sport collection will line up at the start for MINI. Since the beginning of this year, an Austin Mini Cooper S Competition from 1964 has been completely rebuilt in the workshop of the motor-sport division at BMW Group Classic. “We want to remind everyone that MINI also brought home numerous victories on racing tracks alongside its outstanding successes in rally racing,” explains Friedrich Nohl, Head of the Motor-sport Division at BMW Group Classic, commenting on the motivation for the restoration project.

Manufacture of the racing versions of the Mini-Cooper S powered by a 1275 cc engine commenced in 1964. John Fitzpatrick won the 1300 cc class and took second place in the British Touring Car Championship. John Rhodes dominated the 1300 cc class in this championship from 1965 to 1968. He also drove this car to victory in the European Championship in 1968. The car competed in Group 2 and normally had a displacement enlarged to 1293 cc. “We thought that Goodwood was the ideal venue to showcase this British success story with a view to driving the Cooper S in the first race,” continued Nohl. The classic Mini will be driven by Claudia Huertgen, successful racing driver and chief instructor at BMW and MINI Driving Experience, and by Jörg Weidinger, who comes from the hillclimb scene and has been working as a driver trainer at BMW and MINI Driving Experience for many years.

A BMW 1800 TISA is lining up on the starting grid for BMW in the St. Mary’s Trophy in celebration of its landmark 50th anniversary. We were able to attract two very special drivers for this event. Touring Car World Champion Andy Priaux will take the wheel in the fastest of all the models in the New Class. Herbert Diess, Member of the Board of Management of the BMW Group and responsible for the purchasing portfolio, completes the team. The car driven by this celebrity team comes from the motor-sport collection of BMW Group Classic and competed in circuit and hillclimb races in 1965 and 1966. In 1992, Dieter Quester claimed victory driving this car in the European Championship for Historic Touring Cars.

The 1800 TI/SA – “SA” stands for “Sonderausführung” “or special version” – enabled BMW to market a car especially designed for club sport from 1965. The 1800 TI/SA was fitted with two twin carburettors. The compression in the engine was increased compared with the BMW 1800 TI and the engine generated 130 hp, transforming the fast family saloon into a serious contender as a touring car for motor-sport competitions. The purchaser also benefitted from sporty equipment, such as a five-speed gearbox, wooden steering wheel and adjustable bucket seats. A tank holding 105 litres of fuel, adjustable shock absorbers and a range of final drive ratios could also be added as optional extras. Its dependability ensured that this fast BMW four-door car achieved many international successes. Only 200 BMW TI/SA saloons were built. Today, the cars are highly sought after as particularly rare.

BMW Group Classic is not just showing gems from its collection on the race track. Some of its treasures are also on show in the three historic garages located on the exhibition campus beside the racing circuit. An Isetta from BMW relives the era of the 1950s.

MINI is featuring the motto ‘Swinging London’ while Rolls-Royce is showing a design studio focusing on the Spirit of Ecstasy that has been the emblem adorning the cars manufactured by Rolls-Royce for the past 100 years.

The new BMW M5 is being exhibited at the Earls Court Motor Show at the Goodwood Revival alongside its namesake from the 1980s. The past and present of the BMW tradition of turbocharged engines is also on show: a brand new BMW 118i and also a BMW 2002 turbo, the first European series car with an exhaust turbocharger.