At 7am on Sunday 12th August, the gates at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon will open to herald the arrival of up to 2000 BMWs for what the BMW Car Club GB hope will be their best ever Annual National Festival yet.
The show officially starts at 10am and runs until 4pm, welcoming club members from all corners of the UK and also visitors from Europe.
New for this year will be displays in the New Car Village of new BMW Products from the BMW and MINI Ranges, with additional displays from two German specialists – ALPINA and AC Schnitzer. There will also be displays of members’ cars from the many Geographic Regions and Model Registers which form the structure of the club. A “shiver” of Sharknose vehicles are expected to form a major display, the classic BMWs that all share the similar styling cue of the raked back nose that appeared on the E3, E9, E10, E12, E21, E24, E28 model range of the 1960s-1980s and which have become affectionately known as the sharknoses.
A number of anniversaries will be celebrated this year, with the E3, E9 and E10 (2002) together with the M30 ‘big 6’ engine which was introduced with the E3 2500 and 2800 saloons all having their 50th anniversaries. Over its 28-year lifespan, the M30 was used in many of the BMW sporting saloons and coupe models that will be on display. Meanwhile, the 2002 enthusiasts are taking their 50th anniversary celebrations to another level with their owner/drivers wearing period costume to add their own particular brand of fun.
The rare and enigmatic BMW M1 (E26) has its 40th anniversary this year. Only 453 production cars were ever built and as such is one of the rarest models of the classic era, but visitors are assured of seeing at least one in the concours entries. The ever-popular E46 3 series also celebrates its 20th anniversary, and with such a diverse model range within the E46 designation, the plan is to try to display 20 different models to highlight this diversity.
The BMW Car Club Concours has been completely revised for 2018. Concours judging will take place during the course of the day in a dedicated zone to the rear of the museum, with entries expected in the various classes from Pride of Ownership through to Elite and Masterclass. The Concours is again being sponsored jointly by Rybrook Warwick BMW and Meguiar’s, with a very high standard of cars expected to participate.
Advance tickets are available now until the end of July via the BMW Car Club or by phone 01970 267989 for members and non-members as individuals or as forum groups. Visitors from the general public arriving in a BMW product are assured of on-site parking. For the first 500 cars arriving without pre-paid tickets a reserved parking area is available, thereafter additional parking will be available, still on site but a short walk from the entry pay-booth.
