Munich. In 1977, BMW was the first car manufacturer
in the world to offer driver training and became a pioneer in the
field. 40 years later, the BMW and MINI Driving Experience offers a
range of training options that allow participants to develop their
driving skills on an individual basis. There are a host of training
experiences to choose from in current BMW cars, as well as MINI
vehicles and training for motorcyclists. The BMW Customised Experience
also provides the opportunity to browse all the available vehicles,
training locations and training content to put together a tailored,
individual event.
As part of the anniversary event at the BMW and MINI Driving Academy
site in Maisach, journalists had the chance to test BMW models from
various eras, supervised by professional instructors, and get a feel
for the mobility of the past, present and future.
“The BMW and MINI Driving Experience has been helping people to
experience sheer driving pleasure with driver training for 40 years
and forms a direct link to the customer,” says Frank van Meel,
Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW M GmbH. “There is no better
way to get to know the driving behaviour of a BMW, BMW M or MINI
vehicle than with professional training from the experienced
instructors at the BMW and MINI Driving Experience. Anyone who has had
the pleasure of taming the horsepower of one of our BMW M models
during drift or racetrack training courses knows exactly what I am
talking about. The BMW and MINI Driving Experience has a long history
and is also ideally set up to meet the challenges of the future.
Topics such as electromobility, innovative assistance systems and
autonomous driving concepts are all parts of today’s training content.
Looking forward ensures that the BMW and MINI Driving Experience will
continue to be the most emotive product and brand experience within
the BMW Group and retain its position as the global competence centre
for active driving experiences.”
The journalists felt the fervour of the active driving experiences in
Maisach, travelling through time to see the development of the various
stages of mobility. They completed braking and evasion exercises in
current and historic BMW cars, which allowed them to compare driving
with and without assistance systems such as ABS and DSC. At the wheel
of a BMW M550i (fuel consumption in the NEDC combined cycle: 9.1 –
8.6 l/100 km; CO2 emissions combined: 209 – 204 g/km)*, participants
got to experience modern driving assistance systems, such as lane
keeping assist with active side collision protection, steering and
lane control assist, including traffic jam assist, and the speed limit
information system with “Intelligent Speed Limit Assist”. Laps in the
BMW M4 GTS (fuel consumption in the NEDC combined cycle: 8.5 l/100 km;
CO2 emissions combined: 199 g/km)* and the BMW M4 CS (fuel consumption
in the NEDC combined cycle: 8.4 l/100 km; CO2 emissions combined: 197
g/km)* provided an extra helping of driving pleasure.
Active in more than 30 countries worldwide, the BMW and MINI Driving
Experience competence centre provides around 50 different courses for
BMW and MINI models, as well as BMW motorbikes, under the guidance of
professional instructors. More than 25,000 people took part in
training courses across Germany in 2016, with more than 100,000
participating around the world.
“Passion leaves traces”: according to this motto the BMW and MINI
Driving Experience makes an important contribution to driving safety
on public roads and also conveys the driving pleasure that is typical
of BMW. Driving safety training on snow and ice allows the BMW and
MINI Driving Experience to contribute fully to a sense of social
responsibility. This area also includes internal BMW driver training.
The courses take place at spectacular racetracks and include some
drift courses, which provide customers with exciting, action-packed
experiences in high-performance BMW M models.
The BMW and MINI Driving Experience also goes beyond the standard
training schedule to meet individual customer requests. A dedicated
team, specialising in corporate events and incentives, works closely
with customers to put together offers that are tailored to specific requirements.
The global strategic orientation is consolidated and focuses on
establishing additional driving experience markets. Numerous
international locations meet the demanding criteria that the BMW M
GmbH places on BMW and MINI Driving Experience driving safety training
by BMW M GmbH. The Netherlands, the USA and Scandinavia already boast
certified locations and more are currently in progress – South Korea
and South Africa being just two examples.
In the future, the emphasis will continue to move to technology
transfer in the areas of drive systems, driving assistance systems and
connectivity. E-mobility, interactivity and autonomous driving are
playing an increasingly important role. The BMW and MINI Driving
Experience is developing new core competencies in these areas. The
objective: react to customer requirements and provide them with the
opportunity to develop basic driving skills in a controlled
environment, with professional instruction. It is also important to
make technology in modern BMW and MINI cars easier to understand and
experience. BMW driver training will continue to make a long-term
contribution to driving safety in the future.
You can find all the information about the BMW and MINI Driving
Experience here: http://www.bmw-drivingexperience.com.
Below you find links to videos on the occasion of the aniversary celebrations:
40 Jahre, 40 Köpfe: Chamaiporn „Pook“ Paphatphong – BMW Driving Experience.
40 Jahre, 40 Köpfe: Tom Blomqvist – BMW Driving Experience.
40 Jahre, 40 Köpfe: Porträt Klaus Heimerl – BMW Driving Experience.
Dr. Peter Waldmann in profile – BMW Driving Experience.
* Fuel consumption figures based on the EU test cycle, may vary
depending on the tyre format specified.
Further information on official fuel consumption figures, specific
CO2 emission values and the electric power consumption of new
passenger cars is included in the following guideline: “Leitfaden über
Kraftstoffverbrauch, die CO2-Emissionen und den Stromverbrauch neuer
Personenkraftwagen” (Guideline for fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and
electric power consumption of new passenger cars), which can be
obtained from all dealerships, from Deutsche Automobil Treuhand GmbH
(DAT), Hellmuth-Hirth-Str. 1, 73760 Ostfildern-Scharnhausen and at
http://www.dat.de/en/offers/publications/guideline-for-fuel-consumption.html.
Leitfaden CO2 (Guideline CO2) (PDF ‒ 2.7 MB)