Taking a spin at the BMW Munich Driving Academy

Right there on the car showroom floor, a stunning, young woman answered my request to slip into the seat of the latest Tesla for just a moment with, “Oh! You’re a car girl!” At first it was hard to admit, but it must have been true. There I was, on my birthday, pulling my partner and teenage son through the San Diego International Car Show to see the latest four wheel temptations, European luxury coupes, vintage cruisers, Hollywood stunt mobiles and gleaming sports cars and I loved every minute.

I was first smitten last year while covering the Los Angeles Car Show. The displays were over the top – rotating dais showcasing pristine convertibles, futuristic sample hybrids, cute compacts, luxury cars you weren't allowed to touch and sparkling pickups, all exquisitely lit on deep pile carpets or lingering behind perfectly draped stanchions. Accompanying the displays were impeccably dressed assistants – towering girls in stilettos, male models in crisp uniforms and executives speaking a dozen different languages.

It was a walk through a strange dream world. Especially true when I joined one crowd for the unveiling of the Super Mario Brothers Bee Car and the crowd was electrified. Imagine a working model of the car from the video games!  Every man’s heart beat was racing, I imagined, after weaving through the excited crowd…for a Bee Car. Or perhaps it was for the Bee Girls? At any rate, I was dumbfounded.

So, to bury the lead, I was tickled to find out recently about a real world racing opportunity that BMW has put together in Germany. For a mere $2,250 Euros (about $2,900 dollars) drivers can sign up for the BMW Munich Driving Academy to spend three full days being trained, wined and dined and of course, driving the latest models. As the brochure says, “Immerse yourself in the soul of BMW” (A car company with soul??)

If you’re a driver with “sporty ambitions,” they go on to say, this is the perfect opportunity to experience BMW high performance models in an “exclusive atmosphere” and on well-known international racetracks.

If I leave my Bee Girl costume home, don my best Emma Peel persona (From the original BBC Avengers TV series) and rob a bank, perhaps I could pull this off:

Day 1: Arrival and Driving Theory in Munich

On evening one, I’d stroll into the Driving Academy, then get the technical stuff out of the way in a two hour session on driving dynamics before returning to the hotel. My room at Hotel Furstenfelder, 4* is stylishly sleek of course, but I’d focus more on the beer garden.

Day 2: BMW Course Driving

Donning my best zippered jumpsuit, I’d return to the BMW Academy in the morning, to be briefed by a DTM race car driver before strapping into the Model M for a drive. I’d master controlled drifts on a wet course before relinquishing the wheel to the race car driver in a “taxi” demonstration to let me know what’s possible on the streets (Just tell me he’s wearing leather and he can drive me anywhere.) There’s lunch, more driving and then I’d graduate with a BMW Driving certificate before toasting to German speed limits and dropping off to dreams of conquering them.

Day 3: Scenic Drive in the German Alps

After checking in at the course once again, the trainers will review the BMW navigation system and then I’m of for a tour of the Alps. Lunch will be at a Bavarian restaurant, before I’d change BMW models with another driver and continue along the German Alpine route with its magnificent views. (Didn’t I see this once in a James Bond movie?)

Unfortunately, too soon it’s back to earth with a tour of the BMW Welt and museum, “a multi-functional customer experience and exhibition facility.” It’s a state of the art, modern architectural creation which mirrors the spirit if not the line (yet) of BMW. I’d run my fingertips over several models and sigh over motorcycles before checking out the ancillary products in the BMW store. (Is there a bulk discount?)

Dinner is at the exclusive EssZimmer restaurant on the third floor of the Welt. The press call it the “Living room of Bobby Brauer,” a German award-winning chef who draws from French classical, Mediterranean and regional inspirations. It goes without saying there’ll be a great wine and beer list although Bond would have preferred a dinner libation shaken and not stirred.  

This “Car Girl” is so ready to pack her bags.

Photo courtesy of Motoyen, Flickr