Mon, Mar 7, 2016
BMW has kicked off a year of centenary celebrations in Munich that will see the brand reveal its vision for the next 100 years through concept cars, exhibitions and a festival.
March 7, 2016 marks one hundred years to the day since BMW was entered into the commercial register.
This morning, the new BMW Group Classic building in Moosacher Straße 66 in Munich opened its doors for the very first time, welcoming international journalists to a press conference giving details about the celebrations which will be held under the theme of ‘The Next 100 Years’.
Moosacher Straße 66 is where the German company first began operations.
Around 2,000 guests were later welcomed to the Munich Olympic Hall where a multimedia show took them through the key moments in the group’s history and presented the company’s interpretation of future premium mobility.
The event will culminate tonight in the unveiling of a ‘vision vehicle’ called the BMW Vision Next 100.
Following tonight’s event, the ‘vision vehicle’ will set off on a world tour - a travelling exhibition with stops in China, UK and US.
For its Asian premiere, the BMW Vision Next 100 will travel to Beijing (May 5 to 15). Later it will move on to London (June 16 to 27), where two further vision vehicles will join it, this time from the BMW Group’s British-based brands, Mini and Rolls-Royce.
The last port of call on the world tour will be Los Angeles in the US (October 11 to 16), one of BMW’s key markets. Here, the final vision vehicle, from BMW Motorrad, will complete the quartet of BMW Group brands.
Held under the theme ‘Iconic Impulses. The BMW Group Future Experience’, the exhibition presents the company’s view of future individual mobility.
Visitors will experience the BMW Group as a thought leader presenting visions that reach far beyond the short term, offering a multi-faceted and inspiring perspective on the future of mobility.
The exhibition will cover various future trends which will have a significant influence not only on the automotive industry but on society as a whole.
To accompany the exhibition, the BMW Group will hold discussions for selected groups and stakeholders. The main aim will be to encourage an exchange between inspiring individuals from various fields outside the company and experts and talented individuals from within it.
TWO EXHIBITIONS
Core components of the world tour exhibition will also be on display in Munich for visitors to enjoy. The Future Experience in the ‘double cone’ of the BMW Welt will open to the public on March 22, adding a further highlight to the facility, which already welcomes around three million visitors a year.
100 MASTERPIECES
Meanwhile, the BMW Museum in Munich will host ‘100 Masterpieces’ - a temporary exhibition in which the BMW Group and its brands will mark the centenary by presenting the milestones in their history. From March 10, visitors to the automobile museum will be able to see iconic models such as the BMW 328, BMW 507 and BMW Turbo all telling their story. Key business decisions made throughout the company’s 100-year history will also have a special place in the exhibition.
BMW FESTIVAL
September 9 to 11 will see Munich host a BMW Festival across the grounds of the Munich Olympic Park, including the Olympic Stadium, Olympic Hall and the Parkharfe, which is normally a parking area for visitors to the Park. The BMW Museum, BMW Welt and the area around the iconic headquarters will also be included, and events will be rounded off in the evenings by night-time festivities featuring stars from the world of music and renowned DJs.
SPECIAL PUBLICATION
Also, to mark the centenary year, a special publication will provide a wealth of information not only about the history of the BMW Group but also about key future issues, such as energy, demographic change, globalisation, digitalisation and mobility.
They will consist of a mixture of essays, reports, studies and interviews with experts, and reflect the diversity of the BMW Group as well as its brands BMW, Mini, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad.
The publication will consist of 13 volumes:
• Volume 1 - Back to the Future - paints a comprehensive company portrait, charting its history from the first BMW aero-engine to the successful comeback of the Mini and Rolls-Royce brands.
• Volume 2 - Road Trips – Journeys to the Places where the Future has already arrived - shows iconic products from the history of the BMW Group venture into important areas of the future.
• Volume 3 - Where is the BMW Group Headed? - sees essayists and BMW Group experts explore the question of how the company can develop.
• Volume 4 - Fast & Curious - takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the full spectrum of mobility as envisioned over the years, from Icarus via Knight Rider to the remote-controlled BMW of James Bond.
• Volume 5 - Where do we go from here? - is a compact atlas of the future, in which detailed maps and graphics chart the development of tomorrow’s world.
• Volume 6 - The End of the World was Yesterday - presents a collection of academic essays about visions of the future.
• Volume 7 - Out of the Box - provides some surprises from the BMW Group archives.
• Volume 8 - Gallery 2116 - has renowned illustrators sketching their interpretations of future mobility. The result is a visionary spectrum of colourful science fiction worlds.
• Volumes 9 to 12 are dedicated to the four vision vehicles and will offer insights into how and why the vehicles were created.
• Volume 13 - Talking about Tomorrow - presents the thoughts and opinions of personalities from politics, business and the academia on key future issues.
As the centenary celebrations get under way, nine volumes will be distributed to a limited circle of recipients and in the weeks and months that follow, the remaining books will be added to the collection.
The books will be available from bookstores as a limited-edition single volume from October 2016.
