BMW Celebrates its Past, Present and Future During Pebble Beach Concours and Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Weekend

• Never before seen concept from BMW M GmbH debuts at The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering
• BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupé makes North American debut at Pebble Beach  Concours d’Elegance
• New BMW 428i Coupe to be display and offered as raffle prize at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
• BMW 3.0 CSL and BMW M1 to race at Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion
• BMW 507 to be featured at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance

Woodcliff Lake, NJ – August 15, 2013…  On the occasion of the annual car gathering on the Monterey peninsula, BMW will celebrate its past, present and future throughout the weekend.

Concept from BMW M

BMW M GmbH will show a never before seen concept at The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering on Friday. It will provide a glimpse into the company’s future. Information and images will be available later this week on www.bmwusanews.com and www.press.bmwgroup.com.

BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coup é

At the 2013 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este the stunning collaboration between two great companies was unveiled in the form of the BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupé. That car is set to make its North American debut on the Concept Car Lawn at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. 

Always in search of opportunities for further development, the BMW Group consciously pursues creative exchange with other design studios. It enables two design approaches to merge into a new and exciting initiative that encourages fresh creative impulses. Thus the close collaboration with the Pininfarina design team resulted in a new automotive personality brimming with character and ready to join the high-end luxury class: typically BMW and bearing the refined imprint of Pininfarina. The BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupé adds a new dimension to the BMW claim to elegance and exclusivity.

This elaborate creation is a one-off that captivates the observer at first glance with its Italian exclusivity and modern finesse. Generous surface design and taut contours highlight an elegant vehicle body, while hallmark BMW proportions – a long wheelbase, stretched hood, short overhangs and a set-back greenhouse with smoothly sloping roofline – imbue the BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupé with authoritative dynamics even before a wheel has been turned. Enhancing the powerful impact of the side profile are convex taperings that add a dynamic elegance. The exterior symbolizes the modern harmony between power and elegance encapsulated by the V12 engine under the hood.

On the inside, the BMW Gran Lusso Coupé shows this consummate blend of contemporary elegance and luxury. Here the melding of exclusivity, comfort and sportiness makes for a unique interior experience. The fluid underlying geometry of the cabin and the classical BMW driver focus are lent a thoroughly new touch through the influence of Pininfarina.

All-New BMW 428i Coupe

The all-new BMW 428i Coupe will not only be seen at this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, but it will offered as a prize during the traditional raffle before the car goes on sale in the US this Fall. One lucky winner will be able to look forward to receiving their brand-new 4 Series Coupe later this year.

The all-new BMW 4 Series Coupe marks the beginning of a new era for coupes at BMW. Launched as the latest generation of BMW’s sporty mid-size Coupe, the new BMW
4 Series Coupe embodies the very essence of dynamics and aesthetic appeal in the premium segment. The new BMW 428i Coupe will feature BMW’s award-winning TwinPower Turbo 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine. It will be available with a standard 8-speed sport automatic or six-speed manual transmission. Both the 428i and 435i Coupe will be offered with rear-wheel drive or optional xDrive, BMW’s intelligent all-wheel drive system.

The new BMW 4 Series Coupe is defined by its BMW-typical short overhangs, long hood and set-back passenger compartment with flowing roofline. The car’s striking front end – with its characteristic BMW design features, such as the double-kidney grille, four round headlights and a large air intake in the front apron – is keen to display its family ties with the BMW 3 Series. New elements of the BMW 4 Series Coupe are the Air Breathers, which are positioned rearwards of the front wheel arches to reduce drag. The Coupe’s muscular wheel arches and wide track give an aggressive stance, with its prominent horizontal lines.

The interior of the BMW 4 Series Coupe presents a combination of sporty allure and exclusivity. All the controls central to driving are arranged ergonomically around the driver ensuring comfortable access to all functions. In the rear compartment, contoured seats continue the sporty theme of the BMW 4 Series Coupe. Recessed head restraints and broad, continuously molded side supports give the rear bench the appearance of two individual seats. High-grade material combinations and finish quality accentuate the premium feel of the new BMW 4 Series Coupe. Customers can choose the Sport or Luxury Lines as alternatives to standard specification. M Sport is another alternative. All three allow visible individualization of the car’s exterior and interior appearance.

The defining characteristics of the new BMW 4 Series Coupe are its driving dynamics and aesthetics. As always, BMW engineers have placed special focus on steering accuracy, precision, linear control response, and agility to fortify the new BMW 4 Series Coupe as the latest shape of The Ultimate Driving MachineTM. Sophisticated chassis technology, near-perfect 50:50 weight distribution, fine-tuning in the wind tunnel, and lightweight construction all contribute to meet that goal.

The BMW 4 Series Coupe will arrive in US showrooms this fall. Proceeds from the raffle of the BMW 428i will benefit both Kinship Center and Natividad Medical Center. Tickets will be on sale during the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and can also be purchased in advance fom the Kinship Center at www.kinshipcenter.org or 831-455-4712 and from the Natividad Medical Center at ami@natividadfoundation.org or 831-783-2695.

BMW racing heritage on track at Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion

Motorsports played a big role in cementing BMW’s image as The Ultimate Driving Machine in the US in the 1970s. Two cars from that era will be featured on track at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion including the BMW 3.0 CSL that won the 12 Hours of Sebring within days of the incorporation of BMW of North America in March of 1975. A BMW M1 ProCar will also be raced. Both cars will be on display throughout The Reunion at the BMW Garage in the race paddock.

The 3.0 CSL race cars were the first cars to be developed under the new BMW subsidiary, established in 1972—BMW Motorsport GmbH.  They were also the first to sport the newly designated official colors of BMW Motorsport—red, blue and purple.

The 3.0 CSL  that will be campaigned by BMW of North America is one of a team of five cars campaigned by the company in 1975 & ‘76, enjoying considerable success, winning IMSA races at Sebring, Laguna Seca, Riverside, Daytona, Lime Rock and Talledega.  Several drivers were involved in the American success of the CSL’s, including Hans Stuck, Sam Posey, Brian Redman, Ronnie Peterson, Dieter Quester, Benny Parsons, Peter Gregg and David Hobbs.

BMW Motorsport saw an opportunity in the mid 1970s to beat arch-rival, Porsche, in a new racing series by designing andmanufacturing a purpose-built racing car and offering itfor sale to the public, as stipulated by the rules.

The BMW M1, designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro and powered by a Paul Rosche-designed 3.5-liter, twin-cam 6-cylinder engine, mounted amid-ships, debuted at the 1978 Paris Auto Show to the admiration of the world’s motoring press. Unfortunately delays with outside contractors caused its appearance to coincide with the demise of the racing category for which it was built.  The quick thinking solution was the fast and furious ProCar Series which preceded European Formula One races, pitting the top-five qualifying Grand Prix start against 15 talented local drivers in identically prepared M1's. The ProCar Series ran in 1979 and 1980 with championships by Niki Lauda and Nelson Piquet, respectively.

The M1 Group 4 racer being raced this weekend by BMW of North America was originally campaigned in the 1981 IMSA GTO Series.

Timeless BMW 507 featured at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance

The BMW 507 Roadster made its debut in New York City in 1955. It left journalists as well as the public absolutely spellbound. Penned by noted designer, Albrecht Graf Goertz, the 507 featured a long and sleek engine compartment, cockpit perfectly tailored to the driver and passenger and short, muscular rear end and gently sweeping curves gave the car absolutely beautiful, timeless design.

The 507 offered a new take on the traditional BMW face with the double kidney grille vertical instead of horizontal, sweeping elegantly between the headlights across the entire front end of the car. The 507 also had a lot to offer within the engine compartment, boasting an aluminum V8 acknowledged as the first light-alloy V8 in the world built in series production. This truly exclusive car went to only about 250 proud owners between 1956 and 1959.

In addition to the “production” 507 Roadsters, two custom-bodied coupes will also be shown togetherfor the first time. One was created by Italian design firm, Michelotti, the other by the noted American industrial designer Raymond Loewy.

BMW Group In America

BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975.  Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003.  The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and the Rolls-Royce brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, a strategic design consultancy in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country.  BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group’s global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all X5 and X3 Sports Activity Vehicles and X6 Sports Activity Coupes.  The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 338 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 139 BMW motorcycle retailers, 119 MINI passenger car dealers, and 34 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers.  BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

Information about BMW Group products is available to consumers via the Internet at:  www.bmwgroupna.com

#      #      #

Journalist note: Information about BMW Group and its products in the USA is available to journalists on-line at www.bmwgroupusanews.com and www.press.bmwna.com. 

#      #      #