paying for m5 driving expirence? - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

AsianE39M5 · 12th April 2002, 19:01

someone told me you can pay for it?? is this true? if so how much would it be?

BostonRocket · 12th April 2002, 19:07

I believe that the M5 driving experience is included int eh price of the car, all you have to pay for is airfair. You may be thinking about M Driving School, it's a new program being offered by BMW and it is soemthing totally different fromt he M5 DE. Basically it's driving school with all M cars.

'Rocket

blue max · 12th April 2002, 19:10

I'm not aware of anyone who paid for it, or if it's even possible. But, there's always M School at $3,650.

Info from BMW's Website:

Add the letter M to "school" and you get high-performance learning. The M School puts you behind-the-wheel of BMW's high-performance M family of vehicles for two days of M heaven. Yes, you'll improve your driving skills. But your biggest lesson will come from the natural affects of rushing adrenaline.

Arrival Day
On the first night, BMW driving instructors will meet you and your classmates at the hotel for a catered German meal and a chalk talk on car control principles that you'll apply over the next two days. The purpose is to get you appropriately nourished, revved up, and mentally prepared for M exhilaration.

Day One
Begin with a very brief classroom session. (After all, the real classroom is behind the wheel of an M car on the Performance Center course.) You'll spend the majority of your day driving one M car after the other: The M coupe, M roadster, M3 coupe, and M5 sedan. Your lessons will focus on handling skills, avoidance maneuvers, and skid control, you can use in high performance vehicles. For example, you'll learn how to "drift" your way around our skid pad. In the evening, you'll learn more about driving techniques when a BMW Motorsport Driver joins you at dinner to talk racing.

Day Two
Welcome to Michelin's tire testing facility. Just a short trip from the Performance Center, you're here to confront the demands of a variety of surfaces, lap after lap. This is where helmets are mandatory and provided by BMW. You'll apply the knowledge gained on day one to work on improving your handling skills, while a BMW Motorsport Driver works with you to shorten your lap time. Then you'll tackle the wet handling course-complete with decreasing and increasing radius turns-for a whole new set of challenges.

Finish
After two full days of high-performance driving, you'll receive your "M" Degree bearing a big M. M for Motorsport. M for more.

Cost
$3,650 per person, including all ground shuttle, catered meals, and two nights of accommodations. Participants receive a driving helmet, helmet bag, jacket, and shirt. Gift certificates are available. For more information, call the BMW Performance Center at 888-345-4269.

tfung · 12th April 2002, 19:12

the canadian owners who don't get to do the driving experience did a trip last year, where each person paid about $3000 CAD to go.... I think it was a special event for canadian owners

chunpng · 12th April 2002, 19:38

Before they had the M school in August 2001, you can attend the M5 Driving Experience for $3,200 (?). Now they have the M school, don't know what happens. But if you're paying, go for the M school. Wouldn't cost much more tha the DE, but you get to drive the Michelin proving grounds track, muck closer to a real track. The M5 DE has NO track program.

CP

F1Eddy · 12th April 2002, 20:03

I didn't get to go during my first year of ownership, so I called them last Fall to ask if I could pay my way. They told me no, that was not possible

orangemarlin · 12th April 2002, 21:33

I have not done the M5 Driving Experience because, frankly, it would be a let down after the M Driving School and the Z8 driving experience, both of which I've done.

If you have the cash, I would recommend the driving school because you get to go the Michelin proving grounds with various M cars. I had a BLAST driving the M5 in the wet course on the Michelin track. I'm not sure why, but the times with the M5 were a good 10 seconds faster than when I went back a few months later and drove the Z8 on the same course. I think the instructors told me that the M5 handles better in the wet because of the wider wheelbase or something like that.

The autocross was also great, driving an M3. Bill Auberlein, BMW's driver on the ALMS (until Porsche whined and whined and got BMW thrown out) series assisted at the Driving School. I rode with him on the autocross circuit with an M Coupe. If I were ever going to be an autocross racer, I'd have the M coupe as my first purchase.

At any rate, the M Driving School is much more of a learning experience, a lot of which I use now when I'm driving. The M5 Driving experience, so I've been told, is interesting, but not as intense.

All IMHO.

atomic80 · 12th April 2002, 22:05

Wait a minute! I was under the impression that those who wanted to attend the M5 Driving Experience could do so for about $1500 USD. I have heard of some who have done this. Your best bet would be to call those friendly folks at 877 99M-5999 and get the straight answer from the horse's mouth.

On the other hand, I'm not sure I'd want to try the "M" driving school especially since I've already done the M5 Driving Experience. You'd actually be much better off IMHO going to an established tracking school such as Skip Barber or Bondurant since you'd get a racing license upon completion. No such thing from the "M" driving school.