As many of you may already know, we just returned from a couple of days at the BMW plant in Spartanburg, SC, where we enjoyed a full day of driving a 6 Series and a lot of other cars at the BMW 6 Series Performance Driving Experience!
This was an exhilarating, fun, and memorable experience! It started for us by arriving at the Airport and being picked up by a brand new 5 Series Touring. We were taken to our Hotel (all previously arranged by BMW) and greeted with a nice welcoming brochure and a couple of 6 Series shirts (this made a nice collectible item, or a cool shirt to wear on Friday casuals at the office lol). Dinner was also by BMW (fair warning: for those of you that don't know, the State of South Carolina has blue law on Sundays! So if you arrive on a Sunday (like we did) that translates to no alcohol!

The following day was when the real fun began. 8:30 AM sharp a bus was waiting for us to take us to the plant and as soon as we arrived they greeted and escorted us to a briefing room where before anything else each one of us had to sign a waiver form! (liability, etc, etc, and sign away with our driver's licenses). This already tells you that you are going for a really nice ROLLER COASTER ride! LOL (they don't make you sign those at Busch Gardens or Disney World ).

After an introduction and briefing by the instructors, we were separated into two groups (6 cars each) and were taken outside to the lot where we were given a 6 Series and follow the caravan to our first performance driving experience.



The caravan follows the instructor (in the X3) around the first circuit.



Following the instructor around the first slalom and intense curving/breaking while he is explaining us via radio what we must do at each point on the circuit, which we later do by ourselves.


We had a blast all day! Only thing we regretted was not being able to visit the plant (due to the upcoming new X5, the plant was being re-fitted and tours were canceled. They compensated by doing twice the performance driving that extended all the way till 4:00 PM. No city or site tours either, like I had heard from other owners; someone told us the caravans of 6ers called too much attention on the streets plus some drivers were getting tickets for speeding, etc, so they decided to cancel that.



Here we are awaiting to go on our next tour. "Pure Joy".


Instead, great part of the afternoon was spent with rat races and timed circuits were you get to compete a little bit and have a blast! To me was a lot of fun, not sure if everyone agreed, since many of us were getting a bit tired of pushing the cars so much for almost 8 hours straight (with a short 30 mins break for lunch at their cafeteria in the premises (also taken care by BMW).

We started with circuit runs, slalom and cornering, then moved to the skid pad (LOTS OF FUN HERE, IF YOU LIKE SPINNING AROUND THIS IS FOR YOU ), I know it is for me, I had a blast! Of course this is mainly to teach you how to apply the right maneuvers to compensate/avoid understeering/oversteering and to learn how the Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) works (you disable it on the wet surface and then re-engage it and try to do the same maneuvers to experience how the car is aiding you. But for the few of us, gear-heads, petrol-heads, lead foots..... we really want to spin 180, 270, 360 if you are lucky, and avoid hitting the ditch of course.... this was a lot of fun. The instructor goes with you and we took turns (two designated 6ers are the ones they use for this, not the ones they give to you (to give the detailing guys a break ).



The skid pad is being set up. The two 6ers await for the turns.



The blue one is getting ready to go in for a 'spin' (you can see the instructor (Matt) on the passenger side). In the background you can see me already having fun on the skid pad.



That's the other group awaiting for their turn on the skid pad.


The third tour we had was the 'performace driving test' of most cars in their line. We all got to drive them back to back in a circuit and noticed the great differences between each one of them. This was a very enjoyable experience too; I also noticed most owners (by now many of us were like buddies, joking, laughing, really having a good time!) liked this if not the most because we had the following cars lined up to test drive on a closed circuit: a Z4, 330i, Z4 M (with manual tranny), M5, M6, and 760Li!!
All of them wonderful cars and each one with its own personality. Of course, since we were all 6 Series owners, the M6 was the all time winner when I asked a few of them which was their favorite. Most of us, 'gearheads' were M6, then M5, or M5 then M6, and the rest were a mixed group of Z4 M, 7 Series, etc.
All of them gorgeous cars, what's not to like? They are all winners in their own rights!



Ready for another turn, you can see the red M6 in the background (part of the performance driving too).



This is the 6er we drove. The red Z4 and the 330i in the background are ready and waiting for the performance driving.


During the afternoon we did rat races on a smaller skid pad, with penalties for spinning, hitting cones, etc; then the timed circuit (sort of a pole position pre-quals) was the most intense were all of the things learned during the day applied, a larger circuit filled with cones, tight turns, a wet section, slalom and hard breaking between cones with 2 second penalties for each cone hit, or stopping the car outside the cone area. Each one of us took turns at the wheels and each one of us did everything.

The instructors were very knowleadgeable and very professional. A great gang talking to us via radio at all times while we were behind the wheels. With the exception of the skid pad, were you have the instructor in the car with you.

Funny, during our performace driving there was also a teenage driving course happening on a neighboring circuit. They were all in 3 Series. The look on their faces was priceless!



Some of the 3 series from the Teenage Driving School on the neighboring circuit as we enter ours.



Same as above.



A fleet of M3s parked on the side.



More M3s.



I wonder what they use these for?



We spotted a couple of new X5s driving around while waiting for our next turn on the circuit.


Later that night, BMW took us downtown for a great dinner at a fancy place called the Commerce Club (on the 17th floor of a building downtown). All of us shared this great driving experience and we continued sharing our experiences during dinner. I met great people, some were friends, others were couples and even father/son teams.

BMW wants you to take this two day trip (already paid when you purchase the car) and for any of you out there that has doubts about going for this, you should do it, it is well worth it! Pack light too because they give you everything, even the last day they pay for a relaxation time of your choice: golfing/tennis/or spa treatments (popular among the ladies).
...Or you can skip it all if you decided to spend the night out and kept on sleeping through the morning.

Overall, a great experience, and a great introduction to 'other' BMW driving courses, like the M-driving experience, or the professional driving courses they have.. I sure look forward to be back there again .