Article & Pictures by Greg Karpinski
Earlier this year, The Driver’s Line received an invitation to a BMW Track Event at the BMW Performance Center in Greenville, South Carolina. The event was sponsored by two dealerships - Century BMW of Greenville and BMW of Asheville. Over two days, we would participate in a series of driving events at the BMW Performance Driving School, tours of the BMW CCA Ultimate Driving Museum and the Zentrum, as well as dinner out at our choice of a local Greenville restaurant within walking distance of our hotel, the AC Hotel.
Arriving on Thursday morning, we checked in and socialized with other guests before the 11am charter out to the BMW Performance Center. Most guests were frequent BMW and Mini customers, having recently bought new vehicles from either of the dealers; however, we did manage to find a few guests similar to ourselves who have never owned a BMW product. The charter busses picked us up promptly at 11am and we made the 30 minute journey out to the BMW Performance Center where we picked up our credentials and enjoyed a nice catered lunch. Sustenance out of the way, it was time to have some fun!
The roughly 75 eager participants gathered in a classroom where the chief instructor provided an overview of the activities they had ready for us today. We would be testing our skills at:
Autocross – BMW M240i
Track (Lead and Follow) – BMW M4 Competition
Wet Chase – BMW M340i
Off Road Course – BMW X3 and X5
Factory Driver Hot Laps – BMW M3 Competition
To enhance the spirit of competition, the chief instructor also noted that they would be offering prizes to the three quickest times at the Autocross course. We were then divided into groups to kick off the activities, but after we completed the first one, we were free to move to any of the others at our leisure. In the true spirit of The Driver’s Line, we were up first at the Autocross in the recently redesigned M240i. While BMW’s current crop of designers did their usual disservice to the exterior of the new M240i, the engineers still had their say, maintaining the wonderful 382hp B58 twin-scroll turbo straight six coupled with the outstanding ZF8 8-speed automatic. After hopping in and getting settled, we were allowed to take a sighting lap to learn the course. It was a short course and, instead of blasting through a finish line, we would be stopping in a box, with a stiff time penalty assessed for crossing the line. The first of our three runs was clean but not particularly fast as we let the M240i handle shifting responsibilities and worked to memorize the course. Given the gearing of the 8-speed, much of the course could be handled in second, with a quick shift to third on one straight. For our final two runs, we used manual mode and was able to shave over a second off each time. The M240i is a heavy car for autocross, with a curb weight of over 3800 pounds, and you feel it when pushing the car through transitions. BMW’s engineers do a great job in chassis dynamics, but it’s a challenge to overcome that much weight. The final run felt properly quick as we pushed the M240i to its limits, but time would tell how we stacked up amongst the participants. The Wet Chase was right next door and it’s just as you’d imagine – the course is essentially a paperclip that’s constantly being doused with sprinklers, which makes it a test of lateral grip, traction, braking and acceleration. The car provided for this event was the M340i, which shares its drivetrain with the M240i and surprisingly adds only about 100lbs of heft. This was a fun challenge to simply observe, as many participants just hammered the throttle coming out of each hairpin and you’d see the cars perform somewhat graceful spins. Once we strapped in and got a couple laps in under our belt, the clear approach was to brake hard in a straight line, turn in and then gradually apply throttle to full once the back end settled and the car was pointed straight. The technique worked a little too well as we caught our competitor within about two laps each time! As we strolled back to the main building, we saw a factory driver looking bored next to his M3 Competition, so we hopped in for the hot lap, thinking it would be useful to see what the car can do before the lead/follow in the M4 Competition. After strapping in, we headed over to the circuit and once we got on the surface, he simply took off like a shot. We were cresting blind hills at full throttle, on the edge of traction around the entire course and he’s explaining what’s happening like it’s a Sunday drive. After we exit the track, he lamented that the Performance Center puts Continentals on the cars as they’re a little longer lasting than the Michelins, which are a better tire, but the factory drivers were going through too many tires and they had to make a change! Should anyone have the opportunity to ride with a pro driver, absolutely take it – there’s no better way to show you how much you still have to learn. Head spinning and staggering out of the M3 Competition, we found the Lead and Follow with the M4 Competition. Appearance aside, the M4 Competition is an absolute beast of a car – 503hp, 0-60 in 3.8s and through the quarter mile in 11.6 at 124mph. The Lead and Follow puts a factory driver in the first car, followed by three participants. We strapped into the last car and headed out onto the course. The school had segmented a section off from their circuit for us and, unfortunately, it was pretty tight and uninteresting. Understandable they don’t want to have folks piling up a bunch of M4 Competitions, but both the pace and course were disappointing. Last up was the Off-Road course, and we ended up in the X5 group. Getting settled in our X5 xDrive40i, we became reacquainted with the fabulous B58, here tuned for 375hp. Of course, an off-road course isn’t about speed and they wouldn’t appreciate a rally approach, but the course also doesn’t allow for it. We were able to experience the X5 climbing a steep incline, driving at sharp angles, hill descent control and driving over rocks. Certainly not as thrilling as a track experience, but was neat to see how capable the X5 actually is, despite largely doing duty at country clubs, private schools and shopping malls. As our day at the Performance Driving School drew to a close, the chief instructor gathered us back into the classroom for a debrief, discussing the day and what we learned. We were pleased to find that we had the second fastest time of the day at the autocross event and ended up taking home a very cool BMW jacket that may make an appearance in a future vlog someday soon! Overall, the event was a lot of fun and the staff at the BMW Performance Center were professional and safety-focused.
On the second day, we started with a tour of the BMW CCA Ultimate Driving Museum at their unassuming little building outside Greenville. BMW motorcycles are celebrating their 100th anniversary and, in honor of that, the museum has curated an outstanding collection of motorcycles and motorcycle-powered vehicles that’s likely only rivaled by BMW headquarters in Munich. The exhibit runs through January 20, 2024 and, if you’re a motorcycle enthusiast, it’s a must-see. Following the Ultimate Driving Museum, the next stop was the BMW Zentrum – the museum at their production facility in Spartanburg. Stepping inside, the first vehicle to greet us was an absolute dream car – the legendary BMW M1. Glad there was a bench next to it, because we had to literally sit down. The museum is refreshing because it includes vehicles from when BMW knew how to design a handsome car – the first E36 built here, the gorgeous Z8, the one millionth BMW built here, a Z4M. Then you get shocked back to reality by the grotesque XM parked in the corner.
That evening, a perfect capstone to the event was sharing a wonderful dinner with a small group of participants where we shared stories and told lies. Despite folks coming from different walks of life, we were all united by a love of cars, the community and culture. It’s what brings us together and that’s what makes it special, though we can unequivocally say it would be more special if BMW could get their act together on design language. We’re very grateful to Century BMW of Greenville and BMW of Asheville for sponsoring this event as well as Jenn Chew of Genesco Sports Enterprises and her team for their organization and leadership.
Comments