European Delivery of my 1M

[Navigator]

I had been looking for a new daily driver for a while last year and thanks to Rob S (oldguy) I heard about a new 1 Series car being offered by BMW. At that point I did some homework on the car and realized what a monster BMW was producing. It was a M variant with all the fixings. Wide fenders, wide tires, a new 6 speed gear box etc etc. Placed an order for the car last September and around December I learned about the European Delivery program offered by BMW. This would allow me to pick up my car and drive it in Europe with Insurance from BMW then return it to have them ship it to Canada for me. It seemed so fitting to take my own car to Europe and drive it the way it was designed to be driven. When I thought about who could join me on thie adventure I knew only Nuwan would enjoy it as much as me so the two of us planned our 10 day European driving adventure would take us through 5 countries, 4 racing circuits, and some of the best driving roads in the world.

We are still here and the following is the way the week went.

Day 1

The time has finally arrived. We started our journey 12 hours ago from Toronto; after a warm welcome to Germany from Rolf (taxi driver) and a short trip to the Welt (BMWs pick up facility) I signed some papers and now sit patiently waiting.

Our delivery specialist Tom showed us to the car as it spun on the in-ground turntable from the upper mezzanine. After a brief introduction he asked if we were the ones who checked luggage including 2 helmets, we then explained our planned visit to Spa. Tom a Belgium native gave us some great track advice and attempted to scare us into not wrecking the car, very nice of him (not that it was needed).

Before we left the Welt we visited the BMW museum full of some really rare cars. The first 100 kms in the car was fantastic, between the exhaust note (not annoying but can be heard even though I never got over 3k RPM), great road manners and the seats are uber-comfortable for anyone like us who are used to Japanese seats (and not over 6ft tall). 100 kms of German drivers on German roads makes you wonder why the correct driving etiquette (pass on left, slow on right) hasn't caught on in North America, everything is just more efficient here! The weather was poor after we left the Welt, it rained quite heavy and then we ran into flurries. The car has officially seen snow which I planned on hiding it from in Canada.

Stopped for the night just outside Austria, will cross the border in the morning on a journey taking us through the Italian alps.

[Navigator]

Day 2

We left our hotel in Mittenwald Germany, with snow still falling from the sky, it would melt on the ground but with the freezing temperatures we trekked on very carefully. Our planned route had us going to the Stelvio pass in the Italian Alps and then through Monza and Milan and down for a dinner meeting in Piacenza, Italy.

The day started well, we got our required highway toll vignette and were off into Austria. Along the way we ran into a young man driving a new white 3 series in a round about. He pulled in behind us and started taking photos as we were driving so I pulled into a parking lot and had a quick little car show and conversation before parting ways, nice meeting you Alexi. Our route was scenic and after passing through into Italy we made our way to Stelvio. Or at least tried!

We stopped and set up some cameras on the car before heading up Stelvio. It wasn’t long before we ran into a sign that said the pass was open the pedestrians and bikes, but we thought that could have been a mistake and trekked on. The road was pretty dirty with pine needles and other debris and small rocks scattered on the road and as we made a few hairpins there were a few snow covered patches. Michelin PS2’s are not friends with snow so we were uber careful. Well by the time we cleared turn 43 we found a gate closed and a tractor blocking the pass. Totally disappointed we took a few pictures and sat and thought how we could make it better. Although it would be a long detour we decided to go up through the Swiss Alps and drive on those roads. This proved to be a fantastic idea. We got inspected by the Italian and Swiss patrol when leaving Italy, they were courteous, and even helped with a good route. Having watched the videos of Stelvio and driving the bottom set of switchbacks, the Swiss roads vary in that they are more flowing and technical. Stelvio is spectacular but becomes a large series of switchbacks. The Swiss side had an array of corners and they were all different, the drive will be unforgettable. Wish I had time to go back and set up the cameras as we weren’t expecting it to be as good as it was. We stopped for lunch at a local dinner, picked up some Swiss Chocolate and were on our way to Italy (again). There were endless turns, rock overhangs, and fun to be had while still being mindful of the local traffic laws. On the decent back into Italy we came across a road that was filled with switchbacks, cleanly paved with tight banked corners rather than 180deg switchbacks you could actually carry some speed and flow through the descending switchbacks like a leaf falling through the sky. By the time we came through the Italian customs, we were grinning ear to ear. Up until this point the car only continues to impress me, the chassis stiffness, the handling, the great suspension that is stiff but very comfortable all with something that is easy to drive in traffic.

The rest of the days drive had us stuck in Monza and Milan traffic, although bad not even comparable to the traffic in Toronto. You will hear me say it over and over that Europeans can drive and I feel much more comfortable with the drivers around me here then at home. After dinner we tossed up the idea of driving toward Genova so we could get an earlier start to our plans for today. On our way into Genova the highway is quite fast and the last 10 kms into the city and major airport are ridiculously fun.We were pretty much alone when a VW GTi came blazing along, we let him pass and saw that he was content using both lanes of the road (no oncoming lanes) taking proper racing lines through the corners. Between the dark backdrop and the directional turn arrows being lit up by the 1M’s projectors it seemed like a scene right out of a video game. This went on for probably 10 minutes and left me thinking that the saying is very correct “when in Rome do as the Romans” ;-)

What we were not prepared for as the fact that the hotels were either full or closed for new customers by the time we had got there. You are probably wondering why we didn’t book something first, this whole trip for us is about deciding things on the fly, we are not going to limit ourselves if plans have to change. We ended up traveling another 45min to nearby Savona to find a place at 3am.

The day was long we put another 750 kms on the car, fed it gas twice and are averaging about 11 liters per 100 kms. The drive was better then we could have expected and both I and Nuwan are happier with the car. I’m more comfortable with the car, the steering is precise, we were still keeping the throttle in check so as the day progressed we worked higher into the RPM range as well as more throttle input.

[Navigator]

Day 3

Left Savona and headed through Italy into France where we drove sections of the cote d’azur. Awesome roads reminiscent of WRC stages with rock faces on one side, cliffs and water on the other and some very smooth asphalt tying it all together. This car is a blast on these roads and the occasional tunnel reminds you of the symphony of sound you are providing everyone else on your drive. The muffler has been heat cycled enough by this point that the exhaust note is now very throaty and it has lost some of the high pitch notes that were present for the first 2 days of driving. We stopped in Nice for some on foot site seeing; good luck finding parking along the coast line, especially if you want to keep the car scrape free. Beautiful city and marina area with a magnificent view of the ocean.

Next we backtracked east a little to see the infamous Monaco and it’s grand prix circuit. How can you describe Monaco? Simply overwhelming, especially with race preparations underway. We eventually found our way to some recognizable corners from all those years of watching F1. Within the bumper to bumper traffic flow we drove the circuit backwards from the sharp jogs near the marina up through the long tunnel section and into the hairpin where all the rumble strips are in place all year round. We were stopped at the top by Monaco’s finest for a routing inspection in the middle of a traffic jam, most likely due to the flashy car and foreign export plates. Like everyone else we encountered so far they were more than courteous and just took down our information and had the details checked with their headquarters before letting us go. In that time we managed to get circled no less than 3 times by a white Ford Focus RS, each time the driver would stop and hold up traffic while asking us about the car. He has one on order as well and judging by the Monaco plates he probably has a garage collection we’d all like to see. We drove further up the circuit only to arrive and the center of Monaco where all the affluent people park their expensive cars and checking into hotels we could not afford. Skyline GTR, Ferrari Testarosa, Murcielago, Gallardo, Bentleys, SLR McLaren Mercedez and about 30 other cars all within arms reach. Needless to say our jaws dropped at the sight, however we were taken aback when the car paparazzi changed their focus to our car as we navigated the tight parking zone. A few even chased after the car to get a few more shots in. We laughed at the situation and continued to drive the course in the correct direction. By the time we reached the entrance to the tunnel section 10 or so photographers sprung into action and jumped onto the road to slow us down for some pictures. We then turned our attention to getting over to Marseilles for our scheduled first service.


A video from Youtube, you can see us just after 2:12.

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[Navigator]

Day 4

Drove quite literally 20seconds from the hotel to the bmw dealer. We were greated by the majority of the staff as they all wanted to see the car. Luckily one mechanic; Michelle spoke English amongst the 6 other languages he can speak, no other staff could speak any English so we lucked out finding him. We discussed what we were there for and he instantly said that there are no parts. What do you mean no parts? We asked. Apparently no dealer in France stocks M series parts (ie: oil filters / maintenance parts) for the cars, and the parts are ordered in as required for services when booked. Make note of this if you plan on doing a similar trip. We pointed to the large monitor behind him where our name was clearly displayed for the 9am service, and said we had booked this a weeks ago with explicit instructions that we are bringing in a 1M. Long story short there was nothing we could do there as an oil change without changing the filter may cause issues in regards to warranty down the road. He and the other staff were ever helpful in contacting a few other dealers and eventually we settled on another French M specialist dealer that we will need to visit Monday morning before heading to SPA. Not the greatest way to have your plans ruined but the staff was more than helpful in getting our new plans underway. We thanked Michelle by letting him take the car for a quick drive, and I’m sure he has made the rest of the service crew jealous in the process. We had a quick photo session with everyone before heading on our way.

We skipped our originally planned stop in Dijon and headed straight for Paris. Found a hotel with secure underground parking and good internet :-)

We are going to be here till our appointment till Monday.

Finally some negatives about the car came out today. We discovered an error in the speedometer. It looks like the speedometer is off as both our GPS and our Performance Box (10 Hz) read the same while the day and car display read less. We are going to look into it more for slower speeds. Very rarely we were under 140 km/h.

[Navigator]

Day 5

Did less then 2 kms with the car. Fuel and its first wash ready to go early on Monday. Then we spent the day being tourists in Paris.

Oh found the first stone chips. 2 small ones on the drivers A Pillar

[Navigator]

Day 6

Took the opportunity to take some pictures in Paris and do more site seeing. The cars colour is amazing, you can see in the pictures how light really changes the vividness of the orange. There is not a single situation where I think the car looks bad. My original choice was white and then I change it to the orange after seeing it in person at the Detroit auto show. You have to see it in person to appreciate it fully.

Tonight we are in Seclin, France waiting for our morning appointment at the BMW dealership and then off to SPA.

[Navigator]

Day 7 - SPA Track Day

It was my birthday so I could think of a better way to spend it then at the SPA..... SPA Francorchamps Race Track. Details later about SPA but the car was awesome. Here are some pics, details on the cars handling as soon as we have time.

[Sir-knight]

hot. damn.

surprised you didn't do the ring though.

[racecartech]

Happy B day, enjoy the rest of your stay.
Congrats on the car

[nissannx]

Congratulations! What a great way to pick up a car!!!

[STeveD]

The visit to SPA must be the nost perfect part of the trip! So, were you flat through Eau Rouge???

[JoeT]

Nice!!!!

Happy B-Day!!!

Steve,

Eau Rouge.. Ewwwwww LOL what a name for a corner.

[STeveD]

You French guys, Joe... sheesh.

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/12_Belgium_72dpi.jpg

[Daniel]

Awesome stuff, Ivano!! 8-)

Congrats!!

[Navigator]

Went to Nurburgring yeaterday and today. Using lobby computer will post more later. The car is a an absolute beast.

No Steve I was not flat. The track is spectacular.

[Navigator]

Thanks for all the well wishes. Oh and Scott your gonna have to show me the rear wheel drive tricks when it gets home.

[101rs]

now that's the proper way to break in a new car :-)
congrats on the new car.

[SinglemaltWSKY]

Some serious envy going here - looks like an amazing time,

CONGRATS!!

[Loopy]

Hope you don't mind but I forwarded this to my wife. My birthday is coming up too! LOL!

Happy Birthday Ivano! Looks like you're having the time of your life. Enjoy!

I call shot gun when you and you car are back here.

[BryceD]

I love it. Totally jealous, it looks like an unbelievable trip. Gorgeous car too!

[racecartech]

Ivano, keep it safe while having fun.

I would love to take it for a MIR visit, but the RWD tricks? Not Yet.

I love the colour too

[TonyKloosterman]

Very cool roadtrip.
I'd love to get together when you get back and hear your stories.

Maybe lunch one day?

Tony

[Navigator]

Quick Update, the Autoban was fun, never been on a road where the slow lane was doing over 130, 180+ in the middle and the outside.... it saw speeds upwards of 250.


Scott, the car will be superb at MIR, but only going there once!

Tony, would love too, this is something you would absolutely enjoy, but spend 3 weeks doing it.

The rest of you guys should think about this type of car purchase once in your life. Its a great adventure and can be a great family holiday as well.

This picture is at the top of 5th, one more gear to go ;-)

[elementZ]

Wow. Happy birthday and Congrats. Sounds like an epic trip. There better be videos of the ring.

[Sir-knight]

I think I would've left a few bricks on the highway at the top of 3rd.

[LaszloT]

Wow, thanks for sharing. I'd love to get more details about the Nurburgring, because that's on my bucket list.
Well done!

[LaszloT]

Navigator,
Did you lend your 1M to the Post so that they could do an article about it for the Friday the 13th issue of Post Driving, perhaps?

[yangsui]

^looks like Ivano lent his 1M to the Top Gear boys for a few days. See first episode of newest season of Top Gear.

Seriously, Top Gear makes better BMW commercials than BMW!

[Robin]

Clarkson loved it.....

[Guillermo]

Awesome!
Congratulations Ivano

[luckdove]

Wow!! I am lurker here and dont check the forum very often and I just saw this. One of the best road trip stories. Nice way to break in an engine :) Though I am a bit late, congrats on your car.

[Navigator]

Firstly thanks for all the well wishes, something I hope you can all try at some point. I just got the car here last Monday, the car is an absolute dream, already put another 1000km on the car. The reviews from the automotive world are all great. Cant wait for the DDT on Sunday.

Here is what Top Gear had to say.

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[racecartech]

The high speed landscaping is a nice touch, I guess even the STIG has one of those days

[04turbowagon]

Sounds like an awesome trip guys...nice car too!!

I want to see some of the Ring footage.

[Navigator]

No video allowed at the ring. The stuff people use to take video there is extreme; cameras decoyed in grill and as garage fobs etc. What I can tell you is that the place is spectacular, Nuwan can elaborate as well but no video or game shows the true elevation and how blind most of the corners really are. If it was in North America we would probably be there 3-4 times a year.

[isopropyl_z24]

Will you take me for a ride please ? :)

[Navigator]

Sure thing.

[04turbowagon]

I'd have to disagree:

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?client=mv-google&v=bjFOxISY1Bg

Hope the link works. Guess who's driving?

[Fentin_Fury]

i saw the car at the DDT - nice colour.