[jb008]

I received an email from BMW N.A. with the subject line "Complimentary BMW track drive - push your limits."

Congratulations on the recent purchase of your new BMW. No doubt, each drive behind the wheel leaves you wanting even more.

Wish granted. You’ve got a complimentary New Owner’s Track Drive experience waiting for you at the BMW Performance Center. Explore the limits of a variety of BMWs, both on- and off-road, with help from our professional driving instructors.

I followed the instructions and called in to reserve my spots (offer covers two drivers) for the end of April, opting to visit the Spartanburg location. The wait-time for my call back was 2 business days, so the process can take a while. You can view availability on the BMW Performance Driving School calendar (https://pds.eventsbmw.com/?brand=BMW...7s_Track_Drive) and the filters above the calendar let you select location. Since you can't book these online, it may be a few days (and spots may be booked during that intervening time) before you get through to customer service to actually book though.

For an 8 AM class they asked that we arrive at 7:45 to do some light check-in documents, I think the factory tour at the BMW Zentrum had more paperwork than the drive though. We did a quick safety briefing and then headed out to split the group into two groups - half went to do the offroad course with an instructor and the other half went to do the track drive. All cars had 2 people per car, and each vehicle had a radio (either in a cup holder or the door storage bin) through which the instructors were able to communicate with all the cars in the group.

For our offroad course, we followed the leader all in X5s. Each vehicle had 2 people, and we did the full course and then swapped the driver and pax roles and ran through the course again. There are some videos and descriptions of the course on the web and youtube. I was amazed at what the X5 can handle, and would be terrified to experience that type of driving had it not been on a purpose designed course. For reference, I saw a 30 degrees tilt angle on one of the hills!

For the track portion we had 4 vehicles lined up and we had 2 people per vehicle. Our lineup was a Z4M, M440, M8, and X3M - we followed our instructor at a leisurely pace out to the track area, ran through the course a few times with the instructor narrating, and then we pitted and were let loose in a controlled series to run through the course (e.g., car 1 go... car 2 go... car 3 go... car 4 go). We'd do something like 3-4 laps then get told to pit where we'd swap passenger and driver and then head back out. Next, we'd pit and rotate through to the next car. I didn't time it, but I'd guess the course took about 25 seconds to run through at speed. The fastest I hit on the straight was 80 mph in the M8 although I think I could have done it a hair faster with the benefit of hindsight, other cars topped out for me 76-77 and the X3 topped out about 74 (and I think I got an "oh snap" on the tight corner after that from my pax in the X3 too ).

Hot lap was 3 passengers per car in an M3 Competition driven by a pro, and it involved a run through the longer track course and a trip around the drift ring. Pretty amazing what they can do!

We were off the track promptly but the total time was 7:55-10:20ish as a group. The instructors were great, and I really enjoyed the experience. While I would have loved more time behind the wheel on the track portion, I am super impressed and appreciative to have a complimentary driving experience like this! I don't know why my local dealer isn't more proactive about letting people know about this opportunity.

I combined it with a paint and body factory tour ($10pp) and a little time before and after at the BMW Zentrum museum, but we were wrapped up and on the road by 2p.

Also for reference, I don't think to ask if I'd get more drive time if I didn't bring a guest but I don't think I would have and it was fun to have a buddy along so I suggest inviting a friend/relative since the offer covers 2 drivers.

I wasn't able to find much detail about the New Owner's Track Drive so I hope the above trip report is helpful.