Last week I attended a meeting at the BMW CCA Foundation in Greer, South Carolina. You know the place. It's right next door to the BMW Performance Center East, down the street from the BMW Zentrum, and just across the road from BMW Plant Spartanburg where BMW Manufacturing builds the X3, X4, X5, X6, and starting next year, the new X7. The BMW CCA Foundation is smack in the middle of BMW Land USA, and at some point—as soon as next year—it will be joined by a new BMW Car Club of America national headquarters. It's an exciting place for BMW CCA members.

    Speaking of excitement, the BMW CCA Foundation has ratcheted up things to a new level with its first major exhibition, entitled “Heroes Of Bavaria—75 Years Of BMW Motorsport.” The Foundation has completely rearranged its building to display 22 significant BMW race cars and related memorabilia and art. “Heroes Of Bavaria” opened just over a month ago, and officially will run through August 2017—with a good chance of being extended even further.

    The collection of BMWs in this exhibit is mind-boggling. Unless you attended BMW’s display at last year’s Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion during BMW’s 100th anniversary, you probably have not seen this many significant BMW motorsport machines all in one place at one time.

    Like many Bimmerphiles, I get chills when I see a legendary BMW 328 roadster in person. How about standing three feet from a bonafide grand prix-winning 328? The actual—and original—BMW 328 that won the 1939 Grand Prix of Amsterdam is the oldest “Hero Of Bavaria,” on loan from the collection of BMW CCA Foundation president Lance White.

    Many collectors made this marvelous exhibit happen. In addition to Lance White, early BMW CCA members and BMW CCA Club Racing founders Scott and Fran Hughes loaned a number of cars to the display, as did Peter Gleeson, Mike Ura, Jim Roueche, Rey Rivera, Kevin Ladd, TC Kline, Classic BMW of Plano, Cothran Properties, and the BMW Performance Center. BMW of North America came through with a number of great machines, too.

    Having seen the Foundation building before, I was blown away at its transformation into what I can only describe as a real museum. The credit goes to many people, including Michael Mitchell, the Foundation’s curator and archivist; Foundation executive director Scott Dishman; Foundation trustee and Library, Archives, and Museum chair Bruce Hazard; BMW CCA member and newest Foundation trustee Jackie Bechek, who provided enormous support, advice, and volunteer work; and other staff members and volunteers too numerous to mention.

    Michael Mitchell, BMW CCA Foundation curator and archivist

    The range of BMWs representing the marque’s motorsport heritage is amazing—from the 1939 BMW 328 grand prix winner to the 2017 BMW M3 Competition Package that won the Luxury Sedan and Stock Touring classes in this year’s One Lap Of America. In between are early Neue Klasse race cars such as a 1965 BMW 1800 Ti/SA, the 1972 Miller & Norburn 2002, and Jim Roueche’s 1972 BMW 2002 club racer. There is a row of the first BMW Motorsport race cars—the E9 3.0CSLs and the 1977 BMW 320i Turbo. Keep walking around the room to stand next to a BMW-Williams FW22, an M1 ProCar, a race-winning 1999 BMW V12 LMR, and the retro-liveried BMW Z4 GT3 2015 Sebring 12 Hours car.

    One of my all-time favorites is the 1972 BMW 3.0CSL #51 on loan from Scott and Fran Hughes. This was not the first time I have seen this car. For that, we must set our time machine for 1973, the year in which a much younger racing fan traveled 600 miles with three friends in an old VW Beetle from North Bavaria to Le Mans for the 24-hour race and witnessed this very same #51 BMW 3.0CSL win its class in the world’s greatest road race. That was probably the first time I actually took notice of these “BMW” cars, and you know how things went from there.

    Another extremely rare, one-of-a-kind car is the 1972 BMW 3.0 SL on loan from Foundation trustee Peter Gleeson. This was the only factory-built 3.0 SL FIA Group 2 rally car, and it was driven by rally legend Rauano Aaltonen the 1972 Olympia Rally in Munich. They don’t get much better than this.

    More than cars are displayed in “Heroes Of Bavaria.” The Foundation has hundreds of related items of memorabilia to enjoy. And art. The centerpiece of the art display is a unique collection of 101 BMW racing-car paintings commissioned by BMW of Romania to celebrate BMW’s 100 years and painted by Adrian Mitu—who used coffee as his medium. The collection is now on loan to the BMW CCA Foundation by Mike Ura.

    During “Heroes Of Bavaria,” the Foundation will hold special Club Member Days on July 22 and August 5—both are Saturdays. BMW CCA members will have access to the entire exhibit, and each club visitor will receive a special Heroes Of Bavaria collectible. Visit https://www.eventbrite.com/d/united-states/heroes-of-bavaria for more information.

    The BMW CCA Foundation was chartered in 2002 as an independent 501(c)(3) charitable foundation and is probably best known for its Tire Rack Street Survival teen safe-driving program. Since 2002, nearly 1,000 Tire Rack Street Survival schools have been held in the United States and Canada.

    But another mission of the BMW CCA Foundation is to capture the history of BMW and the BMW CCA, preserve it for future generations, and make it available to the public. This includes preservation of historic BMWs and related items in the Foundation’s archives, library, and museum. “Heroes Of Bavaria” is the Foundation’s first museum-quality exhibit, and it is spectacular.

    Some folks think that the BMW CCA Foundation is part of the BMW CCA. While the two organizations work closely in many areas, and the Foundation gears many of its activities toward BMW CCA members, they are separate and distinct from each other. A significant difference is how the two groups are funded. The BMW CCA receives most of its income from membership dues, the annual car raffle, and Roundel advertising, whereas the BMW CCA Foundation is almost entirely donor- and sponsor-funded. Other than a small portion of Street Survival student fees, the Foundation’s operating costs, program expenses, capital acquisitions, and exhibits like Heroes Of Bavaria are funded from sponsors and the generous contributions of donors, many of whom have included BMW CCA members and chapters. Something to think about as you decide where you might place some of your tax-deductible charity donations in the future.

    As you put together your schedule for the rest of the summer and into autumn, especially if you live in or travel to the Southeast, attend a school at the Performance Center, or take Performance Center Delivery of your new BMW, you really should visit the BMW CCA Foundation’s “Heroes Of Bavaria—75 Years of BMW Motorsport.” You may never get the chance to see so many cool racing BMWs again.—Scott Blazey