Bimmerpost Group M3/M4 Euro Delivery / M-Tour Pictures

[akbm3]

After completing my drive of the Stelvio Pass in the morning, I headed off to Berchtesgaden. Along the way I stopped off at BMW dealership in Innsbruck (Unterberger-Denzel) to enquire about the 2,000km service. Despite having an i8 on hand for the day, I caused quite a scene when I pulled up in my M4. I was not able to have the service performed, but I did get a free car wash

When I crossed the border into Germany, I got off the A93 Autobahn and headed east back into Austria on 172. I caught up to a group of Audi R8's just before entering Walchsee and tagged along with them for a bit. After crossing back into Germany, I stopped off in Reit im Winkl to walk around a bit (see two pictures after the one of the R8's.

The surrounding area of Berchtesgaden is absolutely beautiful. I spent the night at the Alpenhotel Hundsreitlehen, situated on a hill overlooking the town of Bischofswiesen. On the morning of June 28th, I set out to photograph two churches: the Pilgrimage Church of Maria Gern and the Parish Church of St. Sebastian. In the afternoon, I stopped off for lunch at Gasthaus-Cafe Graflhöhe "Windbeutelbaron" before heading off to Hallstatt. This place has amazing views and is famous for their "Windbeutel", a puff pastry that can be filled with whipped cream, various flavors of ice cream, fruits, nuts, and liquors. This is one serious dessert.

[akbm3]

Here are two videos heading east on Route 172 in Austria on my way to Berchtesgaden.

In the first video, I am driving with a group of Audi R8's through the town of Walchsee. Note the person on the bike giving the thumbs up after going around a bus in the middle of town. I assume the thumbs up was directed at my M4 and not the R8's

The second video is a short clip of a sequence of S-curves just before crossing into Germany.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioiYtI8ekIk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7zN6NKrqVs

[akbm3]

Only cars belonging to residents are allowed in Hallstatt. I had to park in a lot in Lahn (town next to Hallstatt) and take a shuttle bus to my hotel in Hallstatt. The first two pictures were taken just north of Hallstatt on my drive from Berchtesgaden.

[akbm3]

I spent the last two nights in Zell am See with the intention of driving the Grossglockner High Alpine Road. However, the weather did not cooperate and I was unable to drive the Grossglockner.

My Plan B was to return to the Welt on June 30th in the hopes of that there would be a no show for one of the factory tours and then swing by Red Bull Hanger 7 at Salzburg Airport on the way back to Zell am See later in the afternoon. I was not able to crash the factory tour, but the people at the Welt were kind enough to give me a free pass to the Munich Olympic Tower.

On July 1st, I departed Zell am See for Munich Airport where I had a 9am appointment to drop off my car with LogInOut. I was in good company at LogInOut as I ran into Maddict3 and one of the Canadian ED group members who were both dropping off their M4's as well. I then headed over to a biergarten and had one last German beer before boarding my flight home via Philadelphia.

[Audio Fan]

Great photos OP.

[akbm3]

Originally Posted by GOLFFRR

Wow stunning pics

Originally Posted by Jesal@IND

Im speechless!

Originally Posted by wojcikgu

Wow stunning pics

Originally Posted by Reid

Gorgeous pictures! Makes me feel like I was right there with you!

Originally Posted by AlpineE92M3

Wow these pictures look amazing!

Originally Posted by djflex

best thread ever... FANTASTIC pics.. just pure awesomness

Originally Posted by FTS

What a wonderful adventure, vids and of course pics; I felt I joined you virtually. Thank you for documenting and sharing.

Thanks!

[GarlicBun]

Thank you very much for the great pics Andrew!!
I can't wait for my ED trip now!

[akbm3]

Originally Posted by Andrew115

Nice thread. Jealous of you all. I am surprised that there are no SS shots.

BTW the BSM on SS looks great. Nice choice, with all the heat on this site about not choosing the CF roof, I have to admit it works on that combo well.

Thanks.

No one in our group ordered the Silverstone exterior.

I was the only person in the Bimmerpost ED Group that ordered the sunroof. This car will be my only car / daily driver and I have used / enjoyed the sunroof quite frequently in all my previous cars. However, with that said, if I ordered this car in any other color besides black, I would have gone with the CF roof. Also, if the primary purpose of the car was track duty, I would have gone with the CF roof, regardless of color.

[ciaranob]

Originally Posted by akbm3

Video footage of me driving up the top portion of the eastern side of the Stelvio Pass early in the morning with no traffic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-OnfbPcUOE

Great series of pics and vids - nitpicking into extreme but curious, do you have the CCBs and is that them I hear squealing on some of the turns up the Stelvio pass run?

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by akbm3

In the first video, I am driving with a group of Audi R8's through the town of Walchsee

Looks like you were kinda gettin rolled by those R8s

[akbm3]

Originally Posted by ciaranob

Great series of pics and vids - nitpicking into extreme but curious, do you have the CCBs and is that them I hear squealing on some of the turns up the Stelvio pass run?

Thanks. I have the steel brakes and yes, they were squealing on some of the turns.

[akbm3]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

Looks like you were kinda gettin rolled by those R8s

Didn't want to be too obvious a party crasher. At least the bystander on the bike gave me the thumbs up

[ciaranob]

Originally Posted by akbm3

Thanks. I have the steel brakes and yes, they were squealing on some of the turns.

Surprised by that! You gave then a good work out on the track but would still expect them to behave - bit disappointing to hear them squealing at this stage!

[khanyam4]

amazing amazing amazing amazing.

[GrussGott]

Anytown, USA pretty much. Was the Applebees any good there?



You take some awesome pics? What's your setup and what did you use for post-prod?

[akbm3]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

You take some awesome pics? What's your setup and what did you use for post-prod?

Thanks. I used a Nikon D7000 DSLR (other than three or four pictures taken with my iPhone 4s) with the following lenses shot in either Aperture Priority or Manual mode:

- Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8
- Nikon 16-85mm DX VR
- Nikon 50mm f/1.8D
- Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II

Post prod of JPEG files from the camera were with ACDSee Pro 7 and DxO Optics Pro 9. I also shoot RAW but didn't feel the need to mess with these files since I was happy with the JPEG versions.

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by akbm3

Post prod of JPEG files from the camera were with ACDSee Pro 7 and DxO Optics Pro 9. I also shoot RAW but didn't feel the need to mess with these files since I was happy with the JPEG versions.

Very nice - you have some real wide angle lenses going ... making me think about my ED set up

Also you should get a DxO commission as you've convinced me to it

[Bokke]

Originally Posted by akbm3

Didn't want to be too obvious a party crasher. At least the bystander on the bike gave me the thumbs up

Would love to connect with you in Dallas, we must have just missed you as we did the BMW M Fascination at the Nordschleife on 7/8 thru 7/10 - my F82 as been at the PDC for 3 weeks awaiting my pickup on 8/8

[akbm3]

Added trip itinerary outline to my 1st post in this thread.

[Charles@Gintani.com]

What an amazing trip!!!

[JTO24]

Out of all the pics, that one of Citizen's Bank Park and WFC in Philly is my favorite lol jk but it is cool.. my hometown area.

[VMRWheels]

Wow... looks like an amazing trip! I'm sold on organizing ED for my next purchase