While the home of BMW is Munich, Germany, you can actually learn about its history in Greer, South Carolina. That’s where the BMW CCA Foundation Museum is located, which is, likely not so coincidentally, also where BMW’s Spartanburg plant is located.
The exhibit is called “Genesis” and it features twenty cars and four motorcycles, archival photos, stories and an audio tour that can take you through the history of BMW.
Every part of the brand’s history is contained in the exhibit. Things like BMW’s history making aircraft engines, its origins in motorcycles and how it survived two world wars are all in there.
More than that, there are some truly incredible cars in the exhibit. There’s a 1940 BMW 327 Cabriolet, one of only nine 1940 BMW 335 Cabriolets with Autenrieth coachwork, a 1965 BMW 3200 CS designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro and some depression-era motorcycles.
“This is an unprecedented gathering of extraordinary vehicles displaying the range great manufacturers achieved in their products,” the museum said. “Genesis illuminates the company’s technical innovations as well as its role in supplying the German military through two world wars, and its re-emergence as a peacetime mobility company in the aftermath of World War II.”
Admittedly, the wartime parts of BMW’s history aren’t exactly the most enjoyable but important to history and the brand.
Due to Coronavirus, actually visiting the museum in person is problematic. So you can actually tour the facility virtually, through either their website or a mobile audio tour. Also, there’s a book by the same name, ‘Genesis’, by Jackie Jouret that will give you all the insight you need on the history of BMW.
As a BMW fan, this museum is an awesome place to visit, as soon as the pandemic gets a bit better. Not only is the Genesis exhibit there, but the rest of the BMW CCA Museum is there as well and, if you have the chance, the “Zentrum” museum at BMW’s Spartanburg plant nearby. So in just one town, you can check out about as much BMW history as you can take.
[Source: BMW CCA]
