25 November 2019

A refined, tasteful and passionate world unfolds under the name “DRIVEN 34”. This is the name of the sophisticated hobby garage belonging to Istanbul architect Can Eyilik, home to his spectacular collection of BMW M vehicles and meeting point for fans from the surrounding region. Roads, bridges and panoramas in Istanbul form the breathtaking backdrop for showpieces from the BMW M3 CSL to a first-generation BMW M3 in Henna Red. All this can be seen on Instagram (@driven34) and in the new clip opening the second stage of the film series “Our Brands. Our Stories.”. It is part of the BMW Group Classic campaign of the same name, which just recently won two major awards.

Escape agents dreamt up a lot of ideas for breaking through the Iron Curtain. The idea conjured up by Klaus-Günter Jacobi was one of the best. In 1963, he smuggled his best friend out of East Berlin and over to the West in an adapted BMW Isetta. The tiny car was just 2.40 m long and 1.40 m wide and nobody was going to carry out a thorough search – that’s precisely why the cunning ruse worked another eight times. There’s even a film entitled “The Small Escape” featuring the Isetta and now the BMW Museum has dedicated a special exhibition to the dramatic story. A moving rendition of the whole sequence of events is recounted in the classic#heart blog. 

This is what true love looks like. A wait of 35 years, working hard on the relationship for another five years, and only then did Jim Predmore and his Austin Mini Cooper S become the glamorous couple that today wins competitions and adorns glossy magazine covers. In 1968, a friend of the Californian purchased the car which was a rarity in the US at the time and remains so to this day. Predmore always wanted to have this car and his dreams were only answered in 2006. The restoration lasted until 2011. The ideal way to grow old gracefully together . . .

These colours – any collector who has decided on a BMW R 90 S needs to have a penchant for the joyful colour compositions of the early 1970s. “Silver Smoke” and “Daytona Orange” replaced the refined Black of the former BMW classics. The brand’s first “superbike” ushered in a new motorcycle era. The distinctive fuel tank is now supplied once more in the BMW Classic Parts Shop. Like the entire motorcycle, the tank was styled by Hans A. Muth. He had previously been responsible for the interior of BMW automobiles and landed a winner in 1973 with his first creation on two wheels. Today, Muth is a design legend with masterpieces in lots of sectors – somehow this tank already embodies the promise of that stellar career.