One hundred is a number that seems to be popping up quite often in BMW-related stories these days. We can forgive BMW's fixation with the number, since the year 2016 represents its 100th anniversary as a company (at least sort of). BMW put on a heck of a party in Munich on its chosen birthday, March 7, but now it is following up with more 100-centered events. A case in point would be BMW's latest exhibit at the BMW Museum in Munich. titled "100 Masterpieces: BMW Group—100 Years of Innovative Strength and Entrepreneurial Courage."
The exhibit will run through September 2017, so travelers to the Bavarian capital will have many opportunities to take in the exhibit. Not that any true BMW fanatic would miss the chance to tour the BMW museum if they were in the neighborhood.
The exhibit will tell the stories of “the most important vehicles, motorsport successes, and company decisions of the BMW Group,” and will provide “exciting insights into the historical development and mobility history [of BMW Group vehicles] from 1916 to 2016.” Selected “masterpieces” will be on display to guide visitors through the trip through time from the company’s early days up to the present.
By now, most of us know the story of the innovative airplane engine company that thought it could build a better motorcycle and from there, moved into the car business that now produces the vehicles we love to drive. “100 Masterpieces” presents that history by way of the actual cars and motorcycles and technologies that made the company’s history.
On display and representing various periods and accomplishments are vehicles such as the BMW 328 from 1936, the BMW 507 Roadster from 1955, and the bubble car that helped save the Bavarians, the BMW Isetta, also from 1955. Other masterpieces on the time line include the “Gina” concept car with its changeable textile skin from 2008.
Expect to find milestones representing motorsports, like success in the Paris-Dakar Rally in 1981.
“Bringing the dynamic history of the company to life across the entire spectrum was a challenging and fulfilling mission. Yet the unique exhibition concept enabled us to succeed in choreographing this diversity within a distinguished framework that showcases each era and each facet of the company,” explained Gabriele Fink, Head of BMW Museum and Marketing BMW Group Classic.
The exhibit is open now through September 2017. The BMW Museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday and on public holidays from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. More information may be found at: http://www.bmw-museum.de.—Scott Blazey
[Photos courtesy of BMW AG.]
