BMW Performance Center and Ultimate Driving Museum Present The M Anniversary Celebration

  • VIP reception at the BMW Zentrum and panel discussion with BMW racing legends
  • Driving events on a closed course with pro instructors
  • Special M Celebration display at the Ultimate Driving Museum
  • Meet IMSA champion and BMW Motorsports icon Bill Auberlen
  • All-new BMW M2 and first-ever BMW XM on public display for the first time

Spartanburg, SC – October 6, 2022…BMW’s celebration of 50 Years of BMW M comes home to Spartanburg, South Carolina, with The M Anniversary Celebration: three days of very special events at the BMW Zentrum, The Ultimate Driving Museum, and the BMW Performance Center. Exhibits and displays celebrating five decades of BMW M, M track driving experiences with professional instruction, charity rides in historic BMW M race cars, and BMW celebrity guests and speakers are lined up to make the weekend something to remember when the tire smoke clears.
 
Friday, October 14: The Ultimate Driving Museum and BMW Zentrum. 
The weekend kicks off Friday, October 14, at the BMW CCA Foundation – home of The Ultimate Driving Museum. From 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM ticket holders receive admission to the museum’s “The Power of M: Celebrating 50 Years” exhibit featuring over 25 vehicles spanning the history of BMW M including the 1972 3.0 CSL Batmobile, the mythical 2012 M3 CRT, and the 2018 M8 GTE race car. While there, visitors can pre-purchase Jackie Jouret’s soft-cover exhibit book and have it signed by the author from 11:00-11:30 AM and 1:00-1:30 PM.
 
Guests will check-in at the museum and collect a registration badge that will gain them access to an evening event featuring cocktails and appetizers at the BMW Zentrum from 6:00-9:00 PM. The event will honor Jochen Neerpasch, BMW’s first Director of Motorsport and the creator of BMW M who, sadly, is unable to attend. Head of BMW Product Communications Tom Plucinsky will moderate a discussion with Eddie Cheever, star of Neerpasch’s first BMW Junior Team driver development program, and IMSA legend Bill Auberlen. Door prizes include a set of tires from Continental, driving experiences at the BMW Performance Center, and memorabilia signed by Eddie Cheever and Bill Auberlen.
 
Tickets for the VIP Reception cost $195 per person. Information and registration available here.
 
Saturday, October 15: The BMW Performance Center
The history of BMW M roars to life on Saturday, October 15, when the BMW Performance Center opens its doors for a full day of track experiences and displays. Guests will get behind the wheel of BMW M’s latest products for some track time with instruction by the Performance Center’s pro drivers. Two 2-hour sessions will be offered from 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM. Rare and distinctive street and race cars spanning five decades of BMW Motorsport will be on display throughout the day, and visitors can even purchase a spot in the passenger’s seat of a classic BMW M race car for the ride of a lifetime, with the proceeds benefitting the BMW CCA Foundation.
 
The all-new 2023 BMW M2 and the first-ever BMW XM will break cover at the BMW Performance Center during the day, marking the first time fans in the US can see and hear the two newest vehicles from BMW M in the light of day.
 
A Bavarian Mittagessen (lunch!) of brats, pretzels, and beer will be available for purchase from 12:00-2:00 PM. Bill Auberlen and other BMW celebrities will be there for questions, conversation, and photo ops. The Ultimate Driving Museum will be open from 2:00-5:00 PM, where Bill will be among the featured guest speakers.
 
Tickets for the driving event are $135 per person and include the afternoon activities, or $35 for the afternoon events alone. Tickets and more information are available here.
 
Sunday, October 16: Cars and Coffee with the BMW M Chapter
The weekend winds up at the BMW CCA headquarters with a Cars and Coffee car show hosted by the BMW M Chapter. The show is expected to attract dozens of new and classic M vehicles, plus a few very special vehicles from BMWUSA Classic Collection. Also, for those who missed them on Saturday, the all-new 2023 BMW M2 and the first-ever BMW XM will also be on display in the BMW CCA headquarters garage.
 
The Cars and Coffee will run from 8:00-11:00 AM. Starting at noon, the M Chapter will host an exclusive drive along some of South Carolina’s best backroads.
 
Guests wishing to go on the drive must register here. Admission to the Cars and Coffee is free.




 
BMW Group in the United States.
BMW of North America, LLC was established 50 years ago to support the sales, marketing and distribution of BMW automobiles and motorcycles in the U.S. In 1993 BMW Group Financial Services NA, LLC was founded, and one year later BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC began assembling vehicles in South Carolina. In 2002 and 2003, BMW Group established MINI USA, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC relaunching two iconic brands and rounding out its product portfolio.

Today, the BMW Group has a nationwide corporate footprint in the U.S. which consists of nearly 30 locations in 12 different states. Beyond the National Sales Company and Financial Services headquarters in Woodcliff Lake, NJ, its manufacturing plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and numerous other operational facilities, BMW Group in the U.S. also includes Designworks, a strategic design consultancy in Santa Monica, CA, BMW Group Technology Office USA, a technology research and development center in Silicon Valley, and BMW i Ventures, a venture capital fund, also in Silicon Valley.

BMW Group Plant Spartanburg is the largest single BMW production facility in the world, and the global center of competence for BMW Sports Activity Vehicles including the X3, X4, X5, X6, X7, and XM. The plant assembles more than 1,500 vehicles each day, and up to 450,000 annually. Since 1994, Plant Spartanburg has assembled nearly 7 million BMW vehicles in the U.S.

The BMW Group sales organization in the U.S. is represented through a network of 350 BMW retailers, 147 BMW motorcycle retailers, 104 MINI passenger car dealers, and 38 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. The company’s activities provide and support over 120,000 jobs across the U.S. and contribute more than 43.3 billion to the U.S. economy annually.

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

Please Note


To the extent that historical press releases reference BMW Manufacturing Co. LLC as the manufacturer of certain X model vehicles, the referenced vehicles are manufactured in South Carolina with a combination of U.S origin and imported parts and components.