The Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival & Concours d'Elegance
News & Media
June 20, 2011
BMW Selected as the Honored Marque for the 2011 Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival & Concours d’Elegance
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC (June 20, 2011) – BMW has been selected as the featured Honored Marque for the Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival & Concours d’Elegance which is celebrating its 10th year this fall, October 28 – November 6, 2011.
As the chosen feature, BMW will be included in all four of the Motoring Festival’s signature events.
At the Savannah Speed Classic, October 28 – 30 at the Grand Prize of America Track at the Westin Savannah Harbor Resort, BMW will participate in the event’s Inaugural Car Club Challenge. Up to 60 spaces are available for BMW Car Club of America racers to compete against the likes of Porsche and Ferrari. Participants must meet eligibility requirements as determined by the Motoring Festival’s race partner, Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR), Ltd. For more details on participating in the Challenge, go to http://www.hhiconcours.com/events/speed-classic.html. Additionally, the BMW Performance Center will feature hot laps in street cars as well as race cars. Hot laps are available for purchase on-site at the event.
Featuring German marques this year, the Car Club Jamboree will have 15 of the finest BMW representatives from the BMW Car Club of America on display at the Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn on Hilton Head Island, Saturday, November 5.
Celebrating the design and engineering of BMW, the Concours d’Elegance at the Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn on Hilton Head Island, Sunday, November 6 will feature 4 distinct classes: BMW Pre WWII; BMW Post WWII; BMW Race Cars and BMW Motorcycles. A representative group of vintage and race BMWs are expected to participate. Acceptances will be determined in July.
Running concurrently with the Car Club Jamboree and the Concours d’Elegance, the Motoring Midway at the Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn on Hilton Head Island, Saturday and Sunday, November 5 & 6 will feature several unique and exciting BMW displays including:
- BMW Art Bike: The BMW K 1100 RS motorcycle, painted by Native American artist Lynn F. Burnette, Sr. with symbols of the Sioux culture and the geometric designs of the Plains Indians., recounts the stories of the Sioux and their struggle for freedom that the artist learned as a young child growing up on the Rosebud (Lakota) Sioux Reservation near White River, SD. Additionally, the artist, Lynn Burnette, will be in attendance.
- BMW R7: After over 70 years languishing in a box the BMW R7 has been restored
to its former glory. Although the motorcycle, manufactured in 1934, was only ever a prototype and never went into production it is one of the most important,
innovative and visually stunning motorcycles ever produced. The work of motorcycle
engineer Alfred Böning, the R7 was produced to showcase both the design and engineering capabilities of BMW with the aim of turning it into a production model. It was
a radical departure from accepted motorcycle design of the period, having enclosed
bodywork, a pressed steel bridge frame and for the first time, telescopic front forks.
- Nettesheim Museum: Peter Nettesheim, museum founder, is scheduled to display a selection from his personal collection of vintage BMW motorcycles and memorabilia. The exhibit will feature his 1923 Model BMW R32, BMW’s first motorcycle. This particular bike, the oldest known BMW vehicle in existence, will head a lineup of milestone BMW motorcycles.
- Life in the Fast Lane: As part of this year’s Life exhibit, a new tradition at the Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival, a special display of manufacturer based tuned specialty vehicles, including BMW representatives such as a 323 Schnitzer Turbo.
The BMW Group, a founding sponsor of the Festival, will also participate and feature all of the BMW Group brands, including BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars as well as BMW Motorrad. As part of their involvement, the BMW Group will exhibit ‘BMW Legacy Cars’ at the event’s front entrance on Hilton Head Island with a combination of museum and personally owned vehicles to include a BMW 507, BMW M1 and BMW 2002 tii. Other BMW Group activities will include new vehicle displays, customer ride and drive opportunities and a celebration of BMW’s rich motorsports history with a display of vintage race vehicles.
“We’re pleased to continue our relationship with the Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival & Concours d’Elegance,” noted Jim O’Donnell, President of BMW of North America, LLC. “South Carolina has been our home for 16 years. Not only do we make vehicles there for worldwide distribution like the all-new BMW X3 Sports Activity Vehicle®, at the BMW Performance Center you can sharpen your driving skills and take delivery of your new BMW.”
More information on the 10th Annual Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival & Concours d’Elegance is available online at www.hhiconcours.com.
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Journalist note: Information about BMW Group and its products in the USA is available to journalists online at www.bmwusanews.com and www.press.bmwgroup.com.
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