It's been a busy month for me, but I'm finally catching up. Below are an assortment of photos I took during the PC delivery of my G80 "Pure" (6MT) a couple of weeks back. I know there have been a number of other PCD threads, so I won't belabor the details, but I will underscore the brilliance of this program and encourage everyone to try it out. (Interestingly, though, the delivery itself does not go through every nook and cranny of the iDrive menu system and barely even touched on the different drive modes, perhaps because these cars have gotten so complicated and they simply don't have time for it all, the way they did in my previous PC deliveries. Read the manual.)
In addition to the delivery day itself, my son and I stuck around for an extra day, him to attend the Teen Driving School that BMW runs, and me for some adult fun with their lead instructor, Derek. Long story short, I had originally hoped to attend a 1-day M Driving School; schedules wouldn't allow it, but Derek reached out and organized a three-hour driving program in spurts before and after -- and during the lunch break -- of the Teen School, to make use of the track when it was free. It may not have been a full-day M school, but I have no doubt that I learned just as much with the one-on-one program. It was incredibly fun -- far more advanced and technical than the typical PC track time -- and Derek was simply awesome about helping his ham-fisted student unlearn some bad habits and pushing him hard.
The M3 is, in a word, brilliant. It's not perfect -- what car is? -- but it's just an incredible car and delivers endless fun (even when neutered to 5500 RPM). The carbon buckets, as we all know, are tricky for ingress/egress, but were incomparable around the track, and were comfortable for our long drive back home. Anyone who's driven a BMW manual will feel at home with this gearbox, and I think it's slightly more precise and enjoyable than I remembered previously. Braking and handling are awe-inspiring, and the power builds relentlessly. It's addictive.
Anyway, without further ado...
Over at the Zentrum...
Did you hear Dravit Grey features gold flakes?
#ABI
The next morning, while my son was in class, I drove over to the BMW CCA Foundation Museum, which has a very impressive collection at the moment...
I also applied TrakkTape for the drive back home. Yes, I know this looks like the world's worst PPF job, but it worked well enough.
Back to the track with Derek. What a blast...
Did I mention the gold flakes?
Scenic view in Tennessee on the way home...
