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      07-17-2014, 05:25 PM   #1
Nate@IND
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One small step for M, one giant leap for M fans: IND takes Euro delivery of our M4.

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Ultimately, all of us on BimmerPost are followers of the nearly 50 year old tradition that is BMW M. Whether you’re a vendor, an M owner, or both, we all fly the same flag. Since the humble beginning of BMW M with a small 35 person staff, M engineers have resolutely marched in the same direction: building the best race-derived road cars in the world. IND staff has been following the M tradition since the E36 M3’s heyday, and we are privileged, honored, and humbled to participate in M’s next step. Like all M3/M4 owners, we have taken the giant leap forward that is the F82 M4.

Ownership of our M4 started with Euro delivery, flawlessly arranged for us by Steve Thomas BMW. Euro Delivery is one of the best ways to get acquainted with a new M car. The German countryside, the Autobahn, and of course the birthplace of BMW Motorsport are uniquely able to inspire an M enthusiast to fall in love with an M car, and this was precisely the case when we got to the BMW Welt to pick up our M4.





Although I had to take a traditional “BMW Welt” shot, I’ll spare you the details of the amazing facility- many have already covered the Welt delivery experience in fantastic threads, so save for a few highlights I will move forward with my trip.



A classic 3.0 CSL “Batmobile” race car- this represents one of the origins of BMW M, and is one of M’s first creations. Because this car was also an art car designed by Frank Stella, seeing it in the flesh was truly like seeing a piece of BMW history.





One thing we’ll miss about classic race cars are the incredibly wide and low offset BBS race wheels used in the 70s and 80s. These classic spoke patterns and amazing wheel sizes are something we will likely never see again.





BMW displayed their E90 chassis clay model, giving us a fascinating view into the BMW development process. I can just imagine artists and designers working hard to shape the clay into BMW’s future- it must be an extremely exciting moment!





No trip through the BMW Motorsport history books would be complete without a look at the classic M1, and the amazing E46 M3 GTR. While both of these projects had their dramas during their service life, BMW M would not be the company it is today without either. Each is a critical component of the M story.







With our IND keys firmly in hand, we headed out to the German countryside, knowing that we would eventually have to hand over these keys and our amazing new car to Eisenmann.





Our first stop was our hotel in Heidelberg, a place we stop at each year. You can see more photos of this incredible town in our previous Germany trip stories:

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=914945







We stopped in town to take some photos of the new M4, and found a local German admirer of the car. He stopped us to ask questions about the car, and shot photos of it for nearly 30 minutes! Talking to another fellow M4 fan truly made me feel lucky to participate in the M4’s history, and to enjoy such an amazing car in a place like Heidelberg.



Finally, I was back at our home away from home in Germany, Eisenmann GmbH. The ultimate purpose of our trip, our mission, is to help Eisenmann create the best exhaust system available for the M3 and M4 cars. It was for this that we purchased our F82 M4, for this that I made this voyage to Germany. Eisenmann has been planning and preparing for months now with the original BMW exhaust system components already at the facility and being studied carefully by the engineers, but it will take real study of the M4 as delivered by BMW M to truly create something special.





Finally, after nearly 5,000 miles and months of waiting and preparation, our IND M4 was on Eisenmann’s lift. The engineers at Eisenmann could not wait to truly dig in to the car, and apply their concepts and designs to a real M4.





Over the next three months, Eisenmann will meticulously digitize every inch of the M4’s floor, firewall, engine bay, and exhaust system as it connects with every related component.



By combining acoustic simulation, actual acoustic testing both in a lab and on-road environment, dyno testing, and computer aided design, Eisenmann will create an exhaust system for the M4 that is truly unique. We will work tirelessly with Eisenmann to ensure that they achieve nothing short of perfection by giving them our own M4 project car for hundreds of miles of road testing, as well as testing on the famous Nurburgring.

Please stay tuned as we work hard to develop our M4 demo car, both in Germany and then when it arrives in the United States!
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