Intelligent Design

I was puzzled at first, an invitation to a BMW 7 series promotional event which featured a tour of one of New York City's most extraordinary projects, the rehabilitation of the West Side Railroad High Line. The High Line, a 20 block long garden three stories up over the art galleries of lower Manhattan, represents what's great about the spirit of the city and a guided tour by one of the project's creators was eye opening, literally.

Transported above the street into a space cleverly designed to give new prospectives on a familiar landscape had its intended effect: back on the ground, confronted with the latest BMW 750Li, it was impossible not to notice interesting and subtle details. If great design does not call attention to itself, what could illustrate it better than the invisible grab handle built into the door's trim?

The 750 Li is a car of big presence and obvious luxury yet, I suspect, much of its pleasure will be provided by those small details only owners will be aware of.

Home

Seven at the Glen

Time: About 4:30pm, September 25, 2008
Place: Watkins Glen International, BMW CCA Oktoberfest
Situation: Driver School, Instructor Run Group
Conditions: Humid. Cloudy. Dry track surface.

I took my pal Mr. Worst... Passenger... Ever for a spin (figuratively) in the Instructor Run Group to prove he can trust me behind the wheel and to hopefully show him a good time. A good time was indeed being had when we came upon something more interesting: an E65 BMW 7 Series being driven quite hard on the track. I'm not gonna lie, it was kind of sexy to see the big girl working so hard. Mr. W.P.E whipped out his Blackberry (whew) and snapped a quick sequence (hit the jump for the good shots).



BMW CCA's Oktoberfest is the closest thing to a BMW orgy (and that's close enough, thank you), so you're most likely to see a 7er on the track at an event like this.

Now, the Axis of Oversteer is perfectly comfortable putting cars that don't fit onto a roadcourse in the name of entertainment, but as we closed on the big 7er we realized what a glorious match was occurring between this big car and the track surface. Sure, it rolled a bit, but not too badly thanks to the ARS system. The brakes appeared effective enough for the pace (somewhere above leisurely), and it accelerated beautifully. I never ran into the instructor who was driving her so smoothly, but if you're an Axis watcher, be sure to send us an email. Nice work out of you!

-Freep