DUBAI/MUNICH (April 16, 2025) – The 2025 edition of Art Dubai is set to take place at Madinat Jumeirah from 18 to 20 April, with VIP guests welcomed for preview days on 16 and 17 April. As a long-term supporter of the fair, BMW will showcase the iconic 4th BMW Art Car, painted by Andy Warhol in just 28 minutes in 1979, on the fairground. The display of Warhol’s BMW M1 at Art Dubai is part of the BMW Art Car World Tour, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the legendary BMW Art Car Collection this year. Continue reading
MUNICH/CERNOBBIO – On May 23 – 25, 2025, BMW Group Classic will host the legendary Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in cooperation with the Villa d’Este luxury hotel. The partnership has been running for 20 years in its current form. Continue reading
LONDON (April 3, 2025) – Broad Arrow Auctions, a Hagerty company, continues to add exceptional collector cars to the offering for its inaugural year as the official auction partner of the prestigious Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.
Today, Broad Arrow is delighted to announce that a significant BMW-only sale will feature as part of its two-day Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este auction. Taking place on the evening of Saturday 24 May, Broad Arrow’s BMW auction will celebrate the heritage of BMW as hosts of the revered Concorso. Early featured collector cars for the BMW-only auction represent halo cars for the marque across nearly 70 years of production.
“It is a real honour for us to host a special auction to celebrate BMW and its legacy of hosting the famous Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. We have collated some of the very best cars from BMW’s illustrious history, including both classic and modern as well as iconic motorsport racers. Our evening sale adds a new dimension to the premier event in the concours world, and I am excited to present some of the most exceptional collector BMW cars available, with more soon to be announced.”
– Joe Twyman, VP of Sales for the EMEA Region at Broad Arrow
Featured cars offered from private collectors at the BMW-only sale include:
1958 BMW 507 Series II Roadster (Estimate: €2.000.000 – €2.300.000) It is rare to come across a BMW 507 that was under original ownership for nearly its first half-century on the road. Yet this 507, chassis number 70127, can tell such a story. First registered to “Fa. W. Bartels jr.” of Braunschweig, Germany in 1958, it remained in the family for nearly half a century before they reluctantly parted with it. Subsequent owners lavished a great deal of attention on the 507, including a partial interior retrim and a fresh black soft-top. Its most recent owner purchased the car in 2018 and clearly saw great value in its exceptional originality, fastidiously maintained over the previous six decades, though he added just seven kilometers over seven years.
This rare BMW 507 Series II Roadster is offered as a highly original example and is among the most collectible BMW models. Additionally, this sought-after and timeless mid-century sports car celebrates its 70th anniversary this year and is eligible for the most prestigious driving and concours d’elegance events worldwide.
1980 BMW M1 (Estimate: €450.000 – €550.000) BMW’s “M” division created the M1 as its first fully independent engineering project. Designed to compete with Porsche in Group 5 racing, the M1 featured a mid-engine layout, a tubular space frame chassis by Gianpaolo Dallara, and a striking wedge design by Giorgetto Giugiaro. Just 453 examples were made between 1978 and 1981, including road and racing versions, with the M1 playing a key role in the Procar BMW M1 Championship with drivers Niki Lauda and Nelson Piquet winning the first two seasons.
One of only 71 road cars finished in red from new, this BMW M1 was originally delivered in Berlin to German record producer, Frank Farian. Producer for famous names such as Boney M and Meat Loaf, Farian commissioned BMW Motorsport to modify the bodywork to match that of the famous M1 Procars. This included a large rear wing and a front splitter, while the flared wheel arches allowed wider 16-inch BBS RS multipiece wheels. Additional upgrades performed by Farian included reupholstering the seats with full leather, and unsurprisingly, the car’s sound system was upgraded with a Becker Mexico stereo, Clarion 150EQB graphic equaliser and additional speakers.
Farian owned the M1 for over a decade before selling it to an employee who kept it for the next 18 years when it found a new owner in Belgium. It returned to Germany in 2012 with a new owner and in 2020 it won the Owner’s Choice Award at the prestigious Salon Privé Concours in the U.K.
Following this showing, the car was sold to its current caretaker and was taken to a noted specialist in Sweden for servicing and the paintwork was restored to its original red. On completion, it was displayed at the inaugural 2024 The Aurora Scandinavian Concours in Sweden.
This remarkable BMW M1 has covered just under 91,000 kilometers (56,000 miles), has known celebrity ownership, and benefits from period modifications by BMW Motorsport.
2000 BMW Z8 (Estimate: €200.000 – €225.000) Inspired by the 1956 BMW 507, the Z8, introduced in the late 1990s, blended retro design with modern performance. Designed by Henrik Fisker, the Z8’s styling incorporated nods to the 507, including a sculpted dashboard and front fender vents. Built on a bespoke aluminium chassis with a two-seat roadster body, it features the 4.9-litre V8 engine from the E39 BMW M5, producing 400 cv and 500 nm of torque. With a weight of 1,585 kg, the Z8 could accelerate from zero to 100 km/h in just 4.7 seconds, reaching a top speed of 250 km/h.
Delivered new in Italy on 22 June 2001 by Autosport Brescia, this Z8 was specified in sleek Titanium Silver over a striking two-tone Sport Red and Black leather interior. Offered by just its third owner, the Z8 is in excellent condition, having covered just over 23,000 kilometers during its lifetime.
1981 BMW M1 (Estimate: €475.000 – €575.000) This M1 was completed on 30 January 1981, one of 11 M1s delivered new to the BMW importer in the United Arab Emirates. It was purchased by Vijay Mallya, co-founder of the Force India Formula One Team, with the digital history file showing it was first registered in the U.K. on 30 January 1989.
It remained under Mallya’s ownership and travelled with him to Dubai, then to the U.K. and on to Alaska in 2012 before returning to the U.K. in 2014. Having owned it for 29 years, he sold the car in 2016 to its current owner in the Netherlands.
“These wonderful cars are just a taste of what is to come,” added Joe Twyman. “More fine examples from BMW’s wonderful history are soon to be announced.”
Broad Arrow will conduct its inaugural European auction in partnership with BMW AG as the official auction partner of the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. As a crown jewel in the concours world, Broad Arrow is excited to present 70 of the highest quality collector cars with a premium auction experience during the Concorso weekend on the shores of Lake Como.
The current and continually updated catalogue for the Broad Arrow Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este sale can be viewed here.
Consignors interested in offering their exceptional motor car at The Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este Auction at Villa Erba are invited to contact a Broad Arrow Car Specialist at +44 20 4592 0169 (UK/Europe) or on +1 313 312 0780 (North America) or via email at info@broadarrowauctions.com.
NOTE: The Broad Arrow BMW sale is an independent auction, offering consignments from private collectors.
MUNICH (April 1, 2025) – “I wondered how I could make the Art Car a symbol and vocal archive for the immense artistic creativity of the African continent,” says Julie Mehretu, describing her ambition for designing the 20th BMW Art Car of the iconic collection. The American abstract painter, born in Ethiopia in 1970, first presented her artistically designed BMW M Hybrid V8 to the public at the Centre Pompidou in Paris in May 2024. After its race deployment in Le Mans a month later, this year marks the next chapter of the project in cooperation with the BMW Group: the African Film and Media Arts Collective (AFMAC). Continue reading
LONDON/MUNICH (March 25, 2025) – BMW Group and the London Symphony Orchestra present the 13th edition of BMW Classics in London’s renowned Trafalgar Square on Sunday 15 June at 5pm. The concert highlights the continued partnership between the BMW Group and the London Symphony Orchestra, which since 2012 has brought superlative live orchestral music to audiences in one of the world’s most iconic public spaces and to tens of thousands more around the globe watching on YouTube. From this year, the concert and a selection of previous LSO concerts can also be streamed in selected BMW models. Continue reading
Knoxville, Tenn. (March 24, 2025) – Milltek is famed for its uprated Audi and Volkswagen exhaust systems and it’s now leading the way for BMW models.
The latest BMW G90 M5 has been added to the Milltek range with a roadgoing performance exhaust for the hybrid-powered super saloon and Touring models. This comprises an Axle Back Exhaust System with valved set-up and choice of polished, black, brushed titanium, burnt titanium, or carbon fiber tips for the standard M5 and the M Sport Carbon pack model.
Milltek can also supply a motorsport-only G90 M5 set-up with GPF delete and Active Centre Section that can be specified in conjunction with the OE exhaust or Milltek’s Axle Back Exhaust System.
The popularity of Milltek exhausts with BMW performance enthusiasts is demonstrated by a 60% increase in sales of the G80 M3 system in 2024 and a similar uptick already being seen in 2025.
Alongside these upgraded exhausts for the latest BMW M models, Milltek has revised its Modern Classic range for the E36 and E90 M3 models. The E36 exhaust is available for both 3.0 and 3.2 Evo M3s, as well as other six-cylinder 3 Series models of this generation. It comes with an OEM+ style cat-back system with 70mm tips.
For the E90 M3 with its sonorous V8 engine, Milltek provides a cat-back system with left- and right-hand axle-back pipes, silencers and valves. A key fob controller allows the driver to operate the internal silencer bypass valves to give a satisfyingly different sound with either choice.
Completing Milltek’s M3 exhaust range, customers can choose uprated systems for the E30 and E46 M3 generations.
“We love BMWs and the sound of their engines and exhausts. The systems for the latest BMW M models sit perfectly alongside our Modern Classic range so we can offer the highest quality exhaust upgrade to all BMW fans, and they come with a lifetime guarantee.”
– Kev Hall, Technical Operations Manager at Milltek
Milltek produces all of these exhausts in the UK at its Derbyshire factories and every exhaust is developed on the car it’s made for to ensure the correct fit, emissions, noise, heat management, and performance.
VIENNA (March 21, 2025) – On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the BMW Art Car Collection, the BMW Art Car World Tour is taking place on all five continents with numerous accompanying activities and kicks off in Europe and Asia. The official start of the world tour was celebrated yesterday as part of the “(R) EVOLUTION OF ART” event at the BMW Group Niederlassung Wien. A total of five BMW Art Cars will be shown in Vienna at the Museum of Applied Arts and at the SPARK Art Fair from March 20-23: the cars by Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, David Hockney and Jeff Koons. The latest and 20th BMW Art Car – the BMW M Hybrid V8 by renowned American painter Julie Mehretu – will embark on an Asian tour and be displayed at Art Basel in Hong Kong on March 28-30. Continue reading
MUNICH (March 20, 2025) – BMW Customer Service has its customers’ backs. The new “Relax. We Care.” campaign showcases this aspect with a quirky sense of humor. It is now available to view on social media. Continue reading
MUNICH (March 12, 2025) – Calder, Lichtenstein, Warhol, Holzer, Hockney, Koons, Rauschenberg, Mahlangu, Eliasson, Baldessari, Cao Fei, Mehretu. For the past 50 years, the BMW Art Car series has provided artists fascinated by automobiles with a perfect playground for art and design, technology and innovation, motorsport and engineering. The collection of 20 BMW Art Cars embodies the essence of global cultural engagement with over one hundred initiatives across contemporary art, music and film, as well as design. The “rolling sculptures” – from Alexander Calder’s first-ever Art Car to Julie Mehretu’s latest – offer a cross-section of art history over the past five decades: minimalism, pop art, magical realism, abstraction, conceptual art and digital art are all represented. Continue reading
SEBRING Fla. (March 11, 2025) – 1975 was a historic year for BMW in North America. BMW North America was founded on 15th March, and just days later, the BMW 3.0 CSL secured the brand’s first major sports car victory in the USA at Sebring. This triumph came in the very first race that BMW Motorsport GmbH and the newly established BMW North America entered together. Exactly 50 years later, the BMW M Hybrid V8 livery at the Twelve Hours of Sebring pays tribute to half a century of motorsport success in North America. It showcases key milestones from 1975 to today, embedded within the track silhouette of Sebring. As witnesses of history, Jochen Neerpasch, co-founder and first managing director of BMW Motorsport GmbH, and Brian Redman (USA), Sebring winner of 1975, will be present for the anniversary. The BMW M Hybrid V8s will continue to feature these special liveries throughout the IWSC season. Continue reading
