SHERIDAN, WYOMING – July 2, 2025 – It all started with a shocking discovery in a dusty barn that changed the course of BMW’s racing legacy in North America forever. Today, BMW NA’s classic collection preserves some of the brand’s most iconic race cars, thanks to passionate individuals who knew these machines deserved more than to be forgotten.
A Barn Full of Forgotten Icons
In 1985, BMW NA’s new Motorsport Manager, Erik Wensberg, stumbled upon a hidden treasure trove. “I can recall the very day, because I’d only been with the company for about three months,” said Wensberg. “I was at Lime Rock and was told that our race team, DM Engineering, had a bunch of our stuff gathering dust in a barn next to their shop in Danbury, Connecticut. I had no idea what they were talking about, but I said I’d come up and see.”
“I opened the door of this barn, turned on the single light bulb hanging in the middle, and I was stunned. There’s the 320i Turbo with no wheels, sitting on the dirt floor. There’s the March M1/C, on its side. Two M1s, and a bunch of other stuff, wheels and boxes everywhere.” Wensberg discovered that the plan was to donate the entire lot to a trade school. “I said, ‘The hell it will! You lock this door and don’t open it until I tell you.’”
Back at headquarters, Wensberg told BMW’s Vice-President of Marketing, Hans Riedel, “Hans, this is a crime. All of our racing DNA is sitting in a pile of dirt in Connecticut, and they’re going to give it all away. We’ve got to restore these cars, bring them out, and show them as elements of pride in our history.”
Restoring the Cars That Defined BMW’s Racing DNA
With no restoration budget, Wensberg and Riedel got creative. “Riedel would bring me into every planning meeting where we were talking about a new production car and he’d say, ‘Erik, I think we need a vintage car here! What should we do?’ And I’d say, ‘Well, we could put the CSL there, but I need $45,000 to [have Jack Deren] restore it.’ ‘Okay, give Erik $45,000!’ We restored five or six cars one after another, and displayed them to great acclaim. We did a whole campaign with the enthusiast books, talking about a commitment to performance that dates back decades rather than months.”
Wensberg’s successor, Larry Koch, expanded the collection further. “The goal was to promote BMW performance and the M brand, and to show goodwill towards the BMW Car Club of America and various charities,” Koch said. “I added passenger seats to as many race cars as possible so we could provide rides, and I also started running the cars each year at the Monterey Historics, Lime Rock, and other vintage races, with the driver who drove the car when new if possible. We even took the March 86G and CSL to Goodwood, with Marc Surer and (then BMW NA CEO) Tom Purves driving in 2002 and 2003. It was all great fun, not ridiculously expensive, and it gained a lot of good press.”
Building a Legacy for Future Generations
After BMW NA’s racing hiatus in 2007, Koch shifted to preserving production cars. “After the 1996 BMW celebration at Monterey, I wrote a paper that basically said we should use BMW’s heritage to promote the brand, and to differentiate BMW from the Lexus/Infiniti/Acura brands that had no heritage,” Koch said. “A subsequent consumer survey showed that brand heritage was the third most important factor in BMW purchases at that time, so we embarked on a heritage campaign—you’ll notice references to it in the TV ads of the time. It was also very popular with the BMW CCA, whose members were great extensions of the brand.”
When Tom Plucinsky took over in 2012, he continued the mission with precision. “For me, it’s an honor and a privilege to be able to curate and preserve the heritage of BMW NA through the classic collection,” Plucinsky said. “When I took over in late 2012 the E92 M3 GT racing program was just ending, and I inherited all the assets,” he continued. “We finished the 2012 season with two good cars, but unfortunately the chassis with the most provenance (#1101) had been crashed mid-season, and once the tub was repaired, it had remained as the spare chassis. My first order of business was restoring #1101 back to its 2012 Sebring-winning specification and livery. I also had to negotiate with BMW Motorsport to keep a couple of sets of the proprietary aerodynamic wheels that were used for the long races.”
“My second task was to rebuild #901, which was the very first M3 GT2 built and the 2009 Team and Manufacturers Championship-winning car,” Plucinsky said. “Again, both Team Principal, Bobby Rahal and BMW Motorsport were very supportive, finding the early parts and devoting the time needed to restore that car.”
Preserving Icons, Telling BMW’s Story
Today, BMW Group Classic USA, under Plucinsky’s leadership, preserves both race and road cars—from the ALPINA XB7 that marked Spartanburg’s seven millionth vehicle to the legendary 2002tii that helped launch BMW in North America. “Today, the vehicles in the collection are used for a variety of communications initiatives,” Plucinsky said. “For example, last year was the launch of the new BMW M5 and M5 Touring, so examples of previous-generation M5s were in high demand for marketing and PR communications and events. This year is the 50th Anniversary of the BMW 3 Series, so both the street and racing versions of these cars are in high demand. Finally, for my favorite classic activation this year, BMW NA celebrated the grand opening of its new headquarters on its 50th Anniversary, and what better way to cut the ribbon than with the model that started it all for BMW in North America: the BMW 2002tii!”
Learn more at www.bmwusa.com.