• News & Culture
    • Arts & Events
    • Great Reads
    • Atlanta 500
    • Block by Block: Stories from the streets that connect us
    • Women Making a Mark
    • Pride Guide 2022
  • Food & Drink
    • Restaurant Reviews
    • 75 Best Restaurants in Atlanta
    • 50 Best Tacos
    • 123 Things to Eat on Buford Highway
    • 50 Best Bars
    • Best Barbecue
    • Best Breakfast
    • The TOUR Championship Cocktail Contest
  • Home
    • Artists & Galleries
    • Design Advice
    • Design News
    • Gardens
    • Real Estate
    • Neighborhoods
    • Real Estate All-Stars
    • Sponsored: Preferred HOME Partner
  • Life & Style
    • Style
    • School Guide
    • Health & Wellness
    • Top Doctors
    • Top Dentists
    • Sponsored: Physician & Dentist Profiles
    • Buckhead Guidebook
  • Travel
    • Southbound
    • 50 Best Things to Do in Georgia
    • Hidden Georgia
    • North Georgia Mountains
    • Great Georgia Hikes
    • Jekyll Island
    • Georgia Travel Guide
    • Gilmer: Ellijay Visitors Guide 2022
    • Alabama Vacation Guide 2023
  • Best of ATL
    • Eat
    • Drink
    • Do
    • Buy
    • Readers’ Choice
  • Magazine
    • Subscription Center
    • Newsletters
    • Digital Editions
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Pitch Us
    • Advertise
    • Custom Media
    • Give Atlanta
    • Employment
      • Careers
      • Internships
    • Archives
    • Where to Find
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • Atlanta Magazine Whiskey Festival 2022
      • 2020 Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Designer Showhouse
      • Atlanta Baby and Beyond
      • Atlanta Magazine Whiskey Festival 2019
      • DINES: A Taste of the City’s Best Restaurants
      • 2019 Modern Style Showhome
      • Best Burger Battle
      • Pinewood Forest Idea Home
      • 2018 Modern Style Showhouses
    • Event Photos
Sign in
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Create an account
Privacy and Cookies Policy
Sign up
Welcome!Register for an account
A password will be e-mailed to you.
Privacy and Cookies Policy
Password recovery
Recover your password
Search
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletters
  • Issue Archive
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Atlanta 500
  • Give Atlanta
  • GaBiz Magazine
Sign in
Welcome! Log into your account
Forgot your password? Get help
Create an account
Privacy and Cookies Policy
Create an account
Welcome! Register for an account
A password will be e-mailed to you.
Privacy and Cookies Policy
Password recovery
Recover your password
A password will be e-mailed to you.
Atlanta Magazine Atlanta Magazine
Atlanta Magazine Atlanta Magazine
  • News & Culture
    • Arts & Events
    • Great Reads
    • Atlanta 500
    • Block by Block: Stories from the streets that connect us
    • Women Making a Mark
    • Pride Guide 2022
  • Food & Drink
    • Restaurant Reviews
    • 75 Best Restaurants in Atlanta
    • 50 Best Tacos
    • 123 Things to Eat on Buford Highway
    • 50 Best Bars
    • Best Barbecue
    • Best Breakfast
    • The TOUR Championship Cocktail Contest
  • Home
    • Artists & Galleries
    • Design Advice
    • Design News
    • Gardens
    • Real Estate
    • Neighborhoods
    • Real Estate All-Stars
    • Sponsored: Preferred HOME Partner
  • Life & Style
    • Style
    • School Guide
    • Health & Wellness
    • Top Doctors
    • Top Dentists
    • Sponsored: Physician & Dentist Profiles
    • Buckhead Guidebook
  • Travel
    • Southbound
    • 50 Best Things to Do in Georgia
    • Hidden Georgia
    • North Georgia Mountains
    • Great Georgia Hikes
    • Jekyll Island
    • Georgia Travel Guide
    • Gilmer: Ellijay Visitors Guide 2022
    • Alabama Vacation Guide 2023
  • Best of ATL
    • Eat
    • Drink
    • Do
    • Buy
    • Readers’ Choice
  • Magazine
    • Subscription Center
    • Newsletters
    • Digital Editions
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Pitch Us
    • Advertise
    • Custom Media
    • Give Atlanta
    • Employment
      • Careers
      • Internships
    • Archives
    • Where to Find
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • Atlanta Magazine Whiskey Festival 2022
      • 2020 Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Designer Showhouse
      • Atlanta Baby and Beyond
      • Atlanta Magazine Whiskey Festival 2019
      • DINES: A Taste of the City’s Best Restaurants
      • 2019 Modern Style Showhome
      • Best Burger Battle
      • Pinewood Forest Idea Home
      • 2018 Modern Style Showhouses
    • Event Photos
Home Sponsored The Power of M: Celebrating 50 Years Exhibit Only at The Ultimate...
Sponsored

The Power of M: Celebrating 50 Years Exhibit Only at The Ultimate Driving Museum

By
Sponsored
-
August 15, 2022
3176

From the outside, the BMW CCA Foundation’s headquarters in Greer, South Carolina looks like the converted pharmaceutical warehouse that it is. Step inside, however, and you’ll find yourself in The Ultimate Driving Museum’s latest exhibit, The Power of M. Belying the building’s modest façade, it’s a treasure trove of 25 high-performance cars (and one motorcycle) from throughout BMW Motorsport’s 50-year history. The Power of M will enthrall any fan of Bavarian automobiles.

Photos by Jackie Jouret and Michael Mitchell

More than just race cars and rarely-seen special editions, The Power of M is about history: of BMW Motorsport, its drivers and engineers, and also about the devoted owners who own and care for these special machines.

Photos by Jackie Jouret and Michael Mitchell

Take the 1974 3.0 CSL that greets you as you walk through the door of the museum. Recently treated to a stunning restoration, it’s one of just 167 built in this particular specification, with the 3.2-liter six-cylinder engine designed for racing along with the wild aerodynamic bodywork that gave the car its “Batmobile” nickname. That giant rear wing wasn’t street-legal when this car was new, so it was packed in the trunk for installation by its owner, along with a few other parts “for competition use only.”

The CSL was every BMW enthusiast’s dream car when it was new—as it is again today—but at some point even dream cars become affordable. In 1983, Alain de Graeve was just 17 years old, but he’d saved enough money to buy it from its original owner in Germany for the equivalent of $6,500. He shipped it to the US from his native Luxembourg and used it as his daily driver while attending college. A year later, he sent it home to Luxembourg, where it remained in his mother’s garage until de Graeve happened to look up its serial number online. He knew he had a nice old CSL, but he didn’t realize that he owned an original Batmobile now worth well in excess of a quarter-million dollars. “I couldn’t believe it!” De Graeve said.

Photos by Jackie Jouret and Michael Mitchell

Emphasizing the close connection between BMW’s race cars and its road cars, The Power of M pairs de Graeve’s CSL with its racing counterpart, in this case a car that predates the founding of BMW Motorsport. Dating to August 30, 1971, it was prepared by Alpina for the Dutch national team, but it was turned away from its first race because it hadn’t yet been homologated, i.e. produced in sufficient numbers to qualify. Once its lightweight CSL aluminum parts were replaced with standard 3.0 CS parts in steel, the car was allowed to race. In full CSL configuration from 1973, it won countless races as well as the Dutch national championship before its retirement in 1975.

Photos by Jackie Jouret and Michael Mitchell

As the CSL’s career was winding down, BMW Motorsport was working on its replacement. The M1 become BMW’s first and only supercar, a wedge-shaped wonder that has captivated enthusiasts since 1978. Only 454 M1s were built, and The Power of M includes an immaculate 1980 M1 imported to the US from Kuwait in 1985. It’s paired with a beautifully restored M1 Procar that was driven by Dutch ace Toine Hezemans in the first five Procar races of 1979.

Photos by Jackie Jouret and Michael Mitchell

More of these road/race pairings occur throughout The Power of M, highlighting the influence of racing on BMW’s M cars throughout the decades. Some feature rare special editions, like the 1990 E30 M3 Johnny Cecotto edition displayed alongside the E30 M3 raced by Steve Soper in the DTM series. The Cecotto M3 was never sold new in the US, and very few have entered this country since it was built in 1989. The same is true of the E46 M3 CSL on display. Just 1,383 of these high-performance M3s built in 2003, the car on display at the BMW CCA Foundation is one of perhaps two to have entered the US. The E90 M3 CRT is even rarer: It’s one of just 67 cars built by BMW M in 2012, and again, one of just two in this country. It constitutes a true highlight within The Power of M.

Photos by Jackie Jouret and Michael Mitchell

We could go on and on, waxing enthusiastic about the E36 M3 race car used as a development mule by BMW Motorsport before racing in the US with Team PTG, here paired with one of the 126 M3 Lightweights built to capitalize on its success. We’re equally excited by George Whiteley’s European-spec M635CSi, the row of M5s that shows that model’s evolution through five generations—including a 30 Jahre M5 for which NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick paid $700,000 at auction in 2015, with proceeds benefitting the Foundation—the impossibly sophisticated factory M8 GTE that won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2019. All the cars on display within The Power of M are guaranteed to thrill enthusiasts, and their stories—displayed alongside each car—are filled with fascinating detail about each one’s life on the road or track. Large banners with photos of their engines adorn the museum walls, interspersed with vintage driving suits and posters. The 50-year history of BMW Motorsport is outlined on freestanding pylons scattered throughout the museum, along with glass cases filled with memorabilia. For art lovers, the work of Romanian artist Adrian Mitu is on display, including his “Blue Hero” painting depicting the life of BMW Motorsport founding director Jochen Neerpasch.

Photos by Jackie Jouret and Michael Mitchell

The Power of M is the fifth major exhibit from The Ultimate Driving Museum, and it’s among its very best. Now in its 20th year of “Saving Lives, and Saving History,” the Foundation continues to save lives though its Tire Rack Street Survival program, which teaches safe driving to teenagers across the US. As for saving history, The Power of M will be doing that through January 2023, with opening hours and more information at www.TheUltimateDrivingMuseum.org. They are located in Greer, SC, just across Highway 101 from BMW Manufacturing and virtually next door to the BMW Performance Center. If you’re picking up a new car, stop into The Ultimate Driving Museum and pay a visit to its ancestors!

In the meantime, follow the BMW CCA Foundation on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube!

Photos by Jackie Jouret and Michael Mitchell

Advertisement
mollybrown

Follow Us

69,386FansLike
144,836FollowersFollow
493,480FollowersFollow
Atlanta Magazine
Since 1961, Atlanta magazine, the city’s premier general interest publication, has served as the authority on Atlanta, providing its readers with a mix of long-form nonfiction, lively lifestyle coverage, in-depth service journalism, and literary essays, columns, and profiles.

Most recent

Stolen Goods

Pop-up collective Stolen Goods counts some of Atlanta’s finest young chefs of color among its ranks

March 24, 2023
What to know before you visit Harry Potter: the Exhibition in Atlanta

7 things to know before you visit Harry Potter: the Exhibition in Atlanta

October 24, 2022
A love letter to the Flora-Bama

A love letter to the Flora-Bama

March 22, 2023

GREAT READS

Repurposing downtown Atlanta springs

The scent of water: Searching for hidden springs in downtown Atlanta

February 3, 2023
Abu Talib

Hell and high water: A harrowing journey from Myanmar to Clarkston, Georgia

February 1, 2023
Stop Cop City protestors South River Forest Atlanta

“The birds stopped singing”: Inside the battle for Atlanta’s South River Forest

January 20, 2023
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletters
  • Issue Archive
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Business Forum
  • Privacy and Cookies Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • General Contest Rules
© 2023. All rights reserved.