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| The interior of the original museum |
If you want a spectacular spot to auction BMW cars, bikes, and boats, there could be no better spot than the factory's incredible museum in Munich. A new wing with constantly shifting LED light-walls gives anything inside an otherworldly air, and the setup with flying bridges connecting various display rooms gives the place a vibe of spaceship-cool.
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| R67/2 ISDT bike; when BMWs get dirty, people find them irresistible... |
The original (1972) stainless steel 'salad bowl' museum is attached, a mini-Guggenheim which now hosts temporary displays, and the occasional Bonhams auction. [I recall visiting the 'old' museum in 1987, and loving the display of a banked 'race track', peopled with Rennsports, on the curved walls...an effect which was reproduced in the Art of the Motorcycle exhibit at the New York Guggenheim - a case of the 'imitation' museum being copied by the 'original'!].
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| Prototype BMW v8-engined mahogany boat, built by Abbate of Lake Como in 1958 |
For a full review of the BMW Museum und Welt complex, see my post from 2008. |
| How can Jamie Knight give an auction with people standing on his head? |
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| A pair of R68s, 100mph performance, yours for the choosing |
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| From the glory days of coach-built customs, the 1969 prototype 'Spicup' (spyder/coupe) created by Carozzeria Bertone |
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| The V-8 BMW engine from the Abbate boat... |
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| Repro Steib S500 sidecar |
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| Real Steib S250 chair... |
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| The original BMW motorcycle engine, from an R32 of 1925; a 500cc sidevalve of 8hp |
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| Bikes behind glass... |
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| R51 RS (that's an R51 pushrod production racer with gear-driven camshafts and other racing goodies) sits with an ex-Ernst Henne record breaker |
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| The cockpit of Henne's 'egg'; note ohc Rennsport engine (supercharged) and twin-downtube frame, similar to the R63... |
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| The interior of the 'old' wing; balconies, lily pads, spirals... |
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| ...a great place to display vehicles... |
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| ...with captions in English! |
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| The new museum wing has constantly shifting visuals on the walls, which are gigantic LED panels, covered with glass |
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| Checking out some super low-mileage BMWs at the Bonhams auction |
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| The auction fell at the end of Wiessen (Oktoberfest), and plenty of gents in Lederhosen... |
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| ...and ladies in Dirndls were everywhere! |
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| Bonhams' Philip Kantor discusses a LeMans winning 1973 BMW CSi/L 'Batmobile' Competition Coupe |
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| The grand window wall...Polizei are best kept under glass... |
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| Racers in the museum; RS54, R75M with sidecar, WR750 record-breaker |
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| 1925 R32, the original BMW, which established their reputation. Around 3000 were sold... |
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| Front end of the R32 |
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| Side view of another R32, inside the museum; this is a later model with a proper front brake. |
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| A pair of rare 'flat tank' BMWs; the sidevalve 1928 R42, and sporty '27 ohv R47 |
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| The R47 was BMW's second ohv sports bike (after the R37 of 1924); 494cc, good for 70mph, around 1700 were built. |
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| Rear bracketry of a 60s sidecar Rennsport outfit |
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| 1937 Frazer-Nash BMW 328 roadster |
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| Vain little café racer... |
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| Whopping great Dell'Orto SS1 carbs on this Rennsport sidecar outfit |
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| 3.0 CSi 'Batmobile' production coupe |
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| Lovely 1953 R51/3 outfit... |
