Wing Flex: Germany, There and Back Again: The BMW Welt and European Delivery of the 2016 M5

For other parts of this journey click below!
Part 1 - Introduction
Part 2 - LAX to FRA
Part 3 - FRA to MUC
Part 4 - BMW Welt and Delivery
Part 5 - First drive and Linderhof Palace
Part 6 - Füssen, Ulm, and Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Part 7 - Speyer Museum and Heidelberg
Part 8 - FRA and the Flight Home

Part 4

As the main reason for this trip came closer, the more excited we got. It didn't help that we were jet lagged. It meant tossing and turning early in the morning and seeing some VERY questionable TV on.

In the morning we decided to explore the Marienplatz area before going to the BMW Welt. There is a river next to the hotel and we literally stood there for a minute in awe. This is how bad the drought is in California. A flowing river was our tourist attraction.

OMG a river!

Marienplatz is basically the central shopping and business area of Munich. It is where all the fun and happenings are. You can also see a lot of old German architecture and THE Hofbrauhaus. Nothing was open yet since it was still pretty early in the morning. We did manage to do some shopping before we took a taxi to the Welt.

Architecture in Munich

Our taxi was a Mercedes E-class which would be outrageous back at home but seemed to be the norm in Germany. Our driver was Italian and he was everything you imagine an Italian man to be. He was energetically chatting up with us non-stop with hand gestures of course. He ranted a bit about Uber. Asked where we were from and told us how Los Angeles has been his dream city to visit for the past 30 years.

We were just on time for our scheduled time of arrival at the BMW Welt. It touts itself as the number one tourist destination in Germany with Neuschwanstein Castle at second. It is quite the architectural marvel and is of course filled with everything BMW. Knowing this, the name makes sense as welt means world.

BMW Welt as viewed from pedestrian bridge. Photo courtesy of BMW AG

BMW Welt entrance. Photo courtesy of BMW AG

Across the street from it is the BMW Munich factory where they make 3 and 4 series cars and the BMW world headquarters building which is nicknamed the 4-cylinder building. Also across the street is the BMW Museum which any fan of BMW should visit.

Welt cyclone, a symbol of BMW power, and the 4-cylinder building

We were ushered in to the Premium Lounge on the third floor which is for people who are taking delivery of their cars. Check in was quick with our very efficient BMW rep lady. We deferred the car's paperwork until the next day when we were actually taking delivery. In the mean time we went over our itinerary for today and tomorrow and were printed out nifty Welt cards with our itineraries on them. If you were just there for the tours then you got a paper card.

As European Delivery customers we also got a few free things such as an engraved BMW keychain and some safety vests for use in Europe. Apparently it is a requirement that you must wear your safety vest whenever you are outside your car during an emergency.

Ms. BMW Rep: "Here is ze voucher for your safety vests. Now remember you must keep these inside the passenger compartment. You cannot keep it in the trunk because that would mean violating the law of having it on while you are outside your vehicle."

B: "You mean I have to wear it all the time while I am driving the car?!"

Ms. BMW Rep couldn't help but let out a laugh at that question. Once she regained her composure she told him it was not necessary.

Premium Lounge seating area

Personalized Welt itinerary card

Lockers, food, and drink are provided in the lounge so that you can put your stuff down and relax. This lounge for us was a godsend. It enabled us to walk the factory tour, the museum, and all of the Welt without having to carry anything. In between activities if we got tired we just went to hang out, eat, and drink. The lounge also has WiFi which I felt is a great touch especially since a lot of foreigners come here.

The Welt plays host to many live demos and BMW events. While we were there we saw the Isetta driving people around and the new 7-series event (which we were not allowed to go see).

Isetta live demo. Super cute!

The actual M3 used for the movie. Has fake bullet holes all over it!

Unfortunately there were no cameras allowed during the factory tour. It was absolutely worth it to see. It's a lot of walking but each second of it is very enjoyable. I was totally geeking out over the robots who do a majority of the work at the factory these days. Having owned a 3-series it was nice to be able to see where it was made. My one complaint about the tour was that towards the end the details seemed to be vague and rushed. Perhaps it is because of some proprietary things that they don't want us to see. For example, we never actually saw any engine assembly even though we were told that they are built at the Munich factory.

Here are some things we learned on the tour:

- A little over 50% of BMWs are black.

- The most sold model by far is the 3-series.

- Every single car being built at all of their factories are already sold whether to a dealership or to an owner.

After the factory tour we hung out for a bit in the lounge (haha) and then headed over to the museum. The BMW Museum is a really special place for any BMW fans. It shows all the history of the brand. My favorite display is the room with every single generation of 3-series.

BMW's roots are in aviation!

3-series room

The museum also had a really cute and awesome Mini Cooper temporary exhibit. It had a display of the history of Mini and a few very unique Mini's.

The back portion is an actual tub with massage jets

Delivery Day: 12 September, 2015

We didn't sleep much.

We didn't care that we were awake early again.

This was the day that we had been waiting for.

We took a taxi from our hotel back to the Welt. It was pretty early in the morning on Saturday so it was pretty quiet inside. We took advantage of this and snapped a few photos.

Bimmer fans call this the Stairway to Heaven

We completed some final paperwork that included taking delivery of the car. Our rep showed us our local German vehicle registration papers, procedure for drop off, and some basics about German/European roads.

And then we were free to do whatever we wanted. We opted to have some breakfast and just wait for our 9:30am delivery time. I had told B that I didn't want to see the car until we turned the corner at the stairs. My curiosity got the better of me and I stepped out on to the lounge balcony just in time to see our car arrive up the glass elevator onto the delivery floor. Hearing it start and roar in the cavernous Welt was well...absolute joy. (Stay in school and work hard everyone.)

The first sighting

We were floored at how beautiful the color turned out to be.

"Check me out!"

"I wonder what my owner is like?"

Right on the dot our delivery specialist, Herr Wolfgang Voss was waiting for us at the top of the Stairway to Heaven for the delivery.

YEA!

Though it was our first European Delivery, Wolfgang had to be the coolest guy you could get a delivery from. He was really excited to deliver the M5 to us and is a true fan of the brand. I told him that his job must be really fun because he gets to see people in very happy moments. Apparently one of his perks is to be able to drive any model BMW he wants. If you think about it, it makes sense because how else would these delivery specialists be able to really know these cars? His charming smile is also featured in the official Welt delivery video too. As he was leading us down the stairs he told us we were the only M5 being delivered today.

He helped us snap a few photos before turning on the turn table so that we could watch our car spin before our eyes a la Batmobile. Wolfgang talked primarily to me since I was listed as the primary purchaser. B half listened in and ran around snapping photos as best he could. To be honest, we were both in such awe that we didn't get as many photos as we wanted.

By then the Welt was starting to fill up with people and I noticed quite a few tourists gathering on a viewing platform to view the sacred grounds of the delivery floor where only delivery customers are allowed. Our Monte Carlo Blue M5 was really standing out amongst the mostly gray and black cars. There was one 4 series in a different blue near us being delivered to a man and his young son.

"Daddy why didn't you get THAT car?" as the kid pointed to our M5.

"...Well, son that car is too big for us."

Wolfgang popped open the hood to view the monstrous twin turbo V-8.

Meow.

As Wolfgang was going over the basics of the engine another delivery specialist actually left his customer to come gawk. "Ahh! A true M car!"

Next, Wolfgang went over the external features of the car.

"So do you know how you tell the difference between an M performance car and a real M car?"

"Nope!"

"It's the fog lights! A true M car doesn't have fog lights because it needs room for the ba-jillion intercoolers!" he explained as we walked back tot he front of the car. Before I could fully process a German guy saying "ba-jillion" to me Wolfgang was kneeling before the car exclaiming, "See. Intercooler here. Intercooler there. MANY MANY intercoolers!"

We then went inside the car to explain the "ba-jillion" more features. He timed the explanations perfectly and was careful to not overwhelm me by allowing the conversation to have occasional banter.

"Wolfgang out of curiosity, which is your favorite BMW?"

"Ahh this may seem strange but I like the M235i. It is very nimble and has enough power for the Alpenstrasse. It works well on narrow European roads."

"So the M5 would be a pretty big car then?"

"In some older towns yes. But on the autobahn.....this car is unlike any other," as he broke in to a smile and patted the dashboard. "This reminds me. This car has break in oil that cannot handle high temperatures so please do not exceed 100 mph. It will be difficult on the autobahn though because this car really wants to go. So I say you can go 125 mph maybe once or twice and not for long. And to remind people to move aside for you just flick your light toggle once."

Intercooler everywhere!

Wolfgang asked about our destinations for this trip and actually took the time to program every single destination for us. It was also a really nice demonstration of the iDrive system and how fast it could be.

Wolfgang must have noticed the crowd overlooking the delivery floor because he tells me, "Why don't you go ahead and start the car now?"

"Really?? OK," as B rapidly exited the car to shoot a video.

Wolfgang pointed at the crowd, "Why don't you let them hear it a little?"

I started up the car as it roared to life again.

"Rev it a little."

I think some people almost dropped their cell phones off the ledge as I did as I was told.

After that excitement it was time to do the customary victory lap. I did two. One alone where I revved at some people looking at motorcycles and the second one where I drove with B.

Wolfgang gave us a few more presents just as we were leaving (a Harmon Kardon bluetooth speaker and a coupon for a Bucherer mechanical stopwatch). We thanked him for his time and sadly forgot to take a photo with him. He bid us farewell and to be safe on the roads. If we ever do this again, I hope he is our delivery specialist again.

Down to the exit ramp we went for our car's first foray into the real world.