Blog - My BMW M Power Experience 2009 (big pics warning)

[Breyton]

Damn.... the host is chio....

So are the cars lah. Hehe. Great pics Ryan - keep 'em coming! Didn't know they had an 850i Cabrio. Love the 507 cabrio. Isetta is cute and what's that Z18? lol

[Justin Ang]

Thanks for the sharing Ryan, keep it coming!!

[althaus]

Nice thread!!! Hmm, so Munich is like BMW Heaven....

[ryan]

UPDATE -

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DAY 1 PHOTOS - 26/27th October

DAY 2 PHOTOS - 28th October PART 1
(required to scroll down a bit)

Day 2 PHOTOS - 28th October PART 2
(required to scroll down a bit)

DAY 3 PHOTOS - 29th October
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DAY 4 PHOTOS - 30th October
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Day 3 29th October 2009

Dawn breaks over the lake of St. Wolfgang and unfortunately is shrouded in fog.



Everyone having breakfast overlooking the X6M and X5M.



Entrance of the hotel lies a tunnel to... ze Ring'.



Foggy cold morning.






Everyone boarding the happy bus.







6 deg and pretty icy.



You get a nice cap as well for the event.



Foggy mountainside while leaving the hotel at 8am.





Did you know that Austria is incredibly beautiful?



A scene straight out of a portrait.



Old Austrian houses.



Bovines.



Cruising through the country side. (and you wouldn't believe a Racetrack would actually be built here.



A mountain looms silently in the background over a small village.



Beautiful lake scene.



By far, my most favorite photo of a village shrouded in fog and mountains in the back view. Stunning.



No, I did not buy this photo from some stock professional photography.





Reached the racetrack.



Entrance leading to Salzburgring.





This is what a damn beautiful day looks like. E92 M3s on the left. X6Ms on the right. What could be better?

Everyone's heart rate starts to go up.





Lines of E92 M3s.



The time is 9:02am. This message is sponsored Red Bull.



Instructor giving us a mild brief of the day's happenings.







Differentiation into groups by color.



Some of the main instructors. All very nice folks.



Event Photographer.



Everyone gingerly walking to their cars. 2 to a car. Awesome.







This is the start of a special driver training event.



"SLOW DOWN...............................not."



The training grounds.



Hard brake + Swerve and oversteer/counter training.



The first guy taking the lead.



"I think left is a good direction"



"Step on the gas...MORE!"



There ya go.



Instructors' rides. The BMW X5 M.







Coming in hard at the brake zone. 100km - 0 in pop-your-eyeballs-out mode.








Instructor giving advise on correct hand positioning.



Having a closer look at the M3's suspension and drive-line components.



Front axle has a lot more unique goodies than the other non-Ms.



Instructor explaining how the M components come together on the track.



A peek into the M3's V8 engine.






The M3 means a world of a difference. Seriously.



A brief history of the M3.



"By tradition, red is the slowest, yellow means a dirty fellow, and silver is easiest to maintain!"

Well, no, he didn't say that.



Going over why the V8 engine kicks ass.










Having a closer look at the individual throttle bodies.










Explaining how the M3 differential works and how power is transferred for optimal traction control.



A cutout to allow one to look into the internals.



Unique driveline components made for the M cars.



This piece of metal (Silver) was specifically made for the M cars.



Differential and driveline components. Only ONE part is shared between non-Ms and Ms. The rest are built for the M3 by the M division.



Part of the rear axle.





Carbon roof saves 7KG off the M3's weight.









Cut differential for show.



Explaining how everything comes as a whole.





Break for lunch. Due to residents staying near the track, there is a rule which prohibits all driving for 1 and a half hours from 12 till 1:30.





M motif X6M looks incredible.













You should have seen how every grown man, even up to the ages of 60 looked and acted like small kids just to have their pictures taken with the cars. Can't blame them though.



Sponsored by Bridgestone tyres.



This is a photo of me showing off to the camera girl, my terrific drift and superb driving skills in the snow when no one was looking. Also, there was a poster on the wall in the lounge area.

One of the sentences above is a lie.



Each of our welcome packs had a little book on what the X6M was all about. Have a Xbox360? It felt exactly like a game manual.



Driving activities.



Oh yes..........





Which color to choose? Life is full of difficult decisions.



We haven't drove the X6M out yet, but something tells me that it is not going to disappoint. Which other company tells you to drive their latest uber SAV on a racetrack after a day with E92 M3s?



Enough mental metal to overturn Metallica.









Instructor takes us out on the track for lap sessions and how to drive optimally.



2 men got lucky after 4 M3s passes by them in a whisker.



"This corner *does ptui action* will spit you out if you take the wrong line."



"So. Don't go into the gravel ja."



The chase is on.





At the later part of the day, participants were brought round the ring' in a uber fast session (over 20 laps) for the faster drivers. IMO, my best ever experience.



Turn in...power out.



You can see other groups practicing in other areas.







Very cool instructor. And he brought us out on the scenic BMW X6M drive.



Starting out.



Starting out..



Into an awesome afternoon.



Traffic? No problem. Just step and GO. The BMW X6M is an amazing uber-comfortable road car. Drives like an everyday luxury sports car and has the presence to turn heads.



And we'll be coming round the mountain...



At one of the ranges looking at superb scenery.



A quick stop for a photo op and driver change.



Hill climbs are effortless.



Passing the small village of Krispl.



The X me..Gang.



Passing by a valley and village. Beautiful setting.





Rolling hills, forests and cold fresh air.



I should have my honeymoon here.



Passing through another village.



Beautiful mountain.



Leaving Gaibau.



Rollin' together like the Austrian Mafia.



X6M takes corners with ease.



After a while, you really love the design of the butt of the X6M. As usual, BMW designs grow on you and redefine the look.





Passing by a river.



Enjoying the sunroof.



I've gotta have one of these cars.



Heading back to the track.



What scene could be better than this?



Turning into the ring'. At this point, we realized a cop had been following our convoy of 5 cars.





What an experience.



And back onto the track for another heart racing track session! This time, the 'Espressos' separate from the 'Cappuccinos'.



Cold tires, damp ground meet DSC.



A very professional debrief by the M division team.



Time to leave track........and it's starting to get dark.



Temperature is fast falling.



Nearby our hotel was this very old Austrian village with very interesting cute shops.



Group headed to dinner.



The town's index.



In front of this rather creepy church in the night.





You feelin' romantik?



The dinner group.



Anthony giving a little pout because of steak overload. The rest looks on and keep their silence while...



Joel laughs in glee instead.



No idea what this was, but it was good.












Walking back in the chill of the night.



Join the band. Pick one and you're in!

[Mockngbrd]

thanks for posting up so many pics bro... man.. the surroundings is really something else... macham middle earth with BMWs
imagine staying there....

[ryan]

Damn.... the host is chio....

So are the cars lah. Hehe. Great pics Ryan - keep 'em coming! Didn't know they had an 850i Cabrio. Love the 507 cabrio. Isetta is cute and what's that Z18? lol

Heh it was some kind of prototype car. Dont know why it was there though but sure looked cute.

[ryan]

Thanks for the sharing Ryan, keep it coming!!

Most welcomed, more to come. I'm preparing more pics for the last and final day.

[ryan]

Nice thread!!! Hmm, so Munich is like BMW Heaven....

Pretty much. The funniest thing is, you get to see those real spy cars with the disguised covers here. It's kinda surreal at times.

[ryan]

Day 4 30th October 2009

Morning view of the lake at St. Wolfgang.
























And after everyone sang the M anthem, we proceeded to board the bus back to the racetrack.



Again, beautiful scenery.





Guide briefing us for the day's events.



This time the M3s were gone and now replaced by the X5Ms.



What a sight.



Bright and early on a Friday morning.



First on the menu was a emergency braking wet road training on the banked corner of the ring. The X6Ms maintained very good composure on the track despite it being 2 over tonnes. The car doesn't twitch or show any form of unstableness at this point. Feels exactly like a road going BMW equipped with really good tires. No body roll nor yaw too.






Emergency lane change maneuver. This exercised showed off the X6M's stability and it SHOWS. It's really un-nerving when you think about what other typical SUVs will do when you have to swipe the steering wheel left and right quickly. No fuss here with the X6M, it feels like a 3 series at this point in time. (I did the driver training back in 2003 with 330 sedans, and this feels even better with the updated stability system. Zero roll).



Instructor getting into place for the next exercise.



Sharing a light hearted moment.



Double lane change exercise with the X5Ms.



Heads up display in M mode.





Looks pretty cool.



What a view at the racetrack. For both the participants as well as the local residents.






A sneak peak at the BMW M6 Competition Limited edition with Frozen Gray Metallic matt finish paint. This was the same car which was featured at the Frankfurt motor show earlier this year. More info here (Video: BMW M6 Competition Limited Edition)



Awesome car with an awesome interior.















I wish i had this paintwork. It reminded me of the vintage BMW millie miglia series.








High detailed interior.



CF console.



Stitched interior with Alcantara headlining.






Serious business.



M overload. More than 2000hp here.








A special guest appearance.

The BMW X5 V12 LeMans edition. Scary sonna'beetch.



"Yes you can take it out on track later. Not. "



Glorious V12 intake plenum and engine.









BBS rims is the choice of monsters!



Cranking it up. And this baby sounded like the devil itself.





Special seat cage.






There is no replacement for displacement.



Going through the intricate details of the new twin turbo engine.



Believe it or not, the most expensive part of the entire car. The exhaust manifold.



Going through history to look into the development of the car.



How the gasses are passed through.



"Zis turbo make car go extremely fast." We agree.



Cut open mode of the transmission.



Explaining the shopping cart effect of when a car turns, and how the X5/X6M turns with the help of specially crafted M differentials for optimal turn stability and effectiveness.



Shortly after, he broke out into a salsa dance.



4 pot huge brakes.



Co-Developed with Brembo.



Huge brake pads.



And i went out on track with a very nice M6.



Can't go wrong with one.



Event over, and everyone heads back into the bus. Instructors get on track for their own little bit of fun.




More photos to come... That pretty much is the end of the M event, my thoughts on both cars coming up soon. Enjoy and do leave your comments!

[yoman1979]

great pics Ryan ! Tkx for sharing