trailer world issue Three 2009

Following a long refit phase, the BMW museum has now reopened and pays homage to the motorcar.

Issue Three 2009 15 Tradition Fans have had to show great patience in waiting for the BMW Museum to reopen in Munich at the foot of the legendary “Four Cylinder”, aka company headquarters. But the waiting has all been worthwhile. Now visitors can enjoy a museum world that by no means simply looks back in history but has become a place that illustrates the lines of development. Karl Schwanzer, star architect from Aus- tria, designed both the BMW company headquarters, quickly nicknamed “Four Cylinder”, and the museum building inau- gurated in 1973. With the BMW buildings, Schwanzer created an unmistakable coun- ter pole to the striking Olympics complex in the immediately vicinity. After its long re- fit phase, the new BMW museum now once again sets avant-garde accents. Each of the more than 120 exhibits has its very own story to tell. The exhibition area has been drasti- cally enlarged. It presents visitors with what are now 91 years of BMW history in an am- bience that is certainly not just a stabling fa- cility for cars with a typically static museum approach. Instead, it shows the lines of de- velopment followed by the car as an auto- motive medium. As visitors move through the various topical sections such as motor sport, design and engineering, they actually become part of a documentation process that reflects the history of the car in the passing of time, as a combination of economic, tech- nical and also social processes. There is no zeitgeisty excitement: the museum wants to get visitors to think and reflect on a whole range of issues. Including the currently hot topic of lightweight construction, illustrated by the example of the filigree tubular space frame of the 328 Kamm racing saloon dated 1940 with its sensationally low CW value of 0.23. The BMW Isetta is sure to be a popular fa- vourite: it was the saviour of the brand in the 50s, when BMW’s baroque angels such as the BMW 502 V8 failed to assert themselves in the face of competition from their rival Opel in Rüsselsheim or Mercedes in Stuttgart. One of the museum’s special highlights consists of the BMW Art Cars. The 16th BMW Art Car has just been presented. It was created by the Icelandic/Danish artist Olafur Eliasson on the basis of the hydrogen-driven BMW H2R. Is this a sign that we don’t need to fear the automotive future after all? (hs) Temple in the soup bowl New home for old dreams: BMW’s new museum world Photos:BMW Info The BMW museum in Munich, right next to the BMW factory and the BMW World in Munich (Am Olympiapark 2, 80809 Munich) is open Tuesdays to Fridays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and on bank holidays. The entrance fee costs 12 Euro for adults. An extensive preview and additional information is available at www.bmw-museum.com. An overview of numerous museums can be found at www.oldtimermuseen.de

trailer world issue Three 2009

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