Techno Classica Essen March 26 - 30 2008.

VIP, Preview day March 26.

20th TECHNO-CLASSICA ESSEN from 26 to 30 March 2008:
The Classic Fair of the Superlatives

BMW

Traditionally, the BMW Mobile Tradition again presents itself in exhibition hall 12 - however in a concentrated form. On the exhibition space reduced by one-third - with still 1,500 square meters still the size of ten well-dimensioned single family houses - BMW celebrates "75 Years of BMW 303" and honours the first car with the kidney radiator grill and with the first six-cylinder in-line engine that became famous and established the long tradition of the legendary six-cylinder BMWs.

"30 Years of BMW M1" is the second, big topic of BMW at this year's TECHNO-CLASSICA. The plastic two-seater assembled from 1978 to 1981 at Karosserie Baur in Stuttgart in Giorgio Guigiaro design with a 277 HP four-valve six-cylinder engine is not just formally a fascinating two-seater, but with its maximum speed of about 250 km/h was the fastest series sports car of a German automobile manufacturer at the end of the nineteen seventies.

The only 1.14 m high, flat car manufactured in a series of 460 exemplars is one of the protagonists of the higher-ranking BWM topic "Engine Competence of BMW" with the main focus placed on six-cylinder models which are shown on a joint exhibition stand together with the BMW clubs in hall 12: 26 BMW automobiles, 2 BMW motorcycles and 6 MINI's are decorating the BMW area. A specialty of this year: the exhibited vehicles are initially provided by BMW club members to a wide extent - the clubs play the main part in 2008: "Due to the establishment and opening of a new BMW museum and our new central warehouse with workshop for our classic cars and in the future also for customer vehicles, this year we do not have the capacities and resources to perform our appearance in the traditional way", explains Jörg-Dieter Hübner, BMW Group Mobile Tradition, head of Marketing and Communications.

Supported by BMW, the clubs thus take over a large part of the brand presentation: 16 BMW clubs of the section "BMW Classic and Type Clubs" and two German MINI clubs provide for both an attractive and spectacular presentation of the BMW group history. Thus, this year's exhibition turns out to be like an espresso ristretto - a concentrated, particularly strong espresso with a full flavour.

The MINI exhibition stand will be designed together with the MINI clubs as in the past years - thus placing emphasis on different variants of the MINI Clubman, Traveller and many more.

Nest to the pure show of vehicles with comprehensive information on the objects of desire, BMW Mobile Tradition traditionally established a large information stand on the issue of "Parts and Service". For good reason: the BMW classic sector has adopted to its delivery programme a huge pool of spare parts in the years of its existence since 1994 - new parts from old stock, re-manufactured parts - so that meanwhile more than 20,000 different part positions are available for historic BMW's of the post-war period.

Of course the new BMW museum also is an important issue in the BMW exhibition hall 12: the latest information is available on the new historic presentation of the Bavarians - and visitors can take part in a drawing of five x two admission tickets for the BMW museum to be reopened in July 2008. Another museum also presents itself at the TECHNO-CLASSICA in the scope of BMW: the Eisenach Automobile Museum plans to arrange a special show on the issue of "80 Years of Dixi": the official sale of the Dixi 3/15 HP type DA 1 (DA stands for "German Design") from the Eisenach Dixi factory started on 1 January 1928. The small four-cylinder car was initially produced as license construction of the British Austin Seven under the flag of Dixi. With some improvements (as e.g. four-wheel brakes instead of the rear wheel brakes for the Dixi) it was released as BMW 3/15 HP type DA 2 from July 1929 subsequent to the acquisition of the plant by BMW. Thus, the Dixi is the first important milestone of BMW car manufacturing…