BMW and the Mille Miglia are united by a shared history that goes back a long way. The triumphs of the BMW 328 are as inseparably linked with this 1,000-mile race as the winning appearance of the BMW 507 in the late 1950s.
BMW Classic is writing a further chapter of this historic narrative at the 2009 Mille Miglia. An icon of BMW racing history, normally only on view at the BMW Museum, has been rendered raceworthy again for this year’s Mille Miglia: the BMW 328 Mille Miglia Touring Coupé, overall winner of the 1940 event.
“On the one hand we want to express the high regard in which we hold the Mille Miglia,” says Karl Baumer, head of BMW Classic, “and on the other our aim is to show that the BMW Museum is no dead-end street, but that we also put historic vehicles back on the road for special occasions.” Visitors to the Museum need not miss out on the legendary racing coupé: during its absence a faithfully reproduced replica will be standing in for the original.
As well as the Touring Coupé, several BMW 328 production models will be sent out onto the roads between Rome and Brescia, along with a range of BMW 328 Mille Miglia Roadsters and a BMW 328 Berlin-Rome Roadster. The youngest BMW to make the journey from Munich to Italy will be a BMW 507 built in 1957. In all, nine works cars will be lining up at the start of this year’s Mille Miglia, with seven further teams bearing the blue and white logo also expected in Brescia.
The teams:
No. 71 BMW 328 (Prinz Leopold von Bayern / Peter Lovett)
No. 72 BMW 328 (Ulrich Knieps / Dr. Hans Hamer)
No. 73 BMW 328 (Maximilian Schöberl / Jürgen von Kuczkowski)
No. 74 BMW 328 Mille Miglia Coupé ( Andrea Castronovo / Kristian Ghedina)
No. 75 BMW 328 Berlin-Rome Touring Roadster (Ian Robertson / Charles Lord March)
No.76 BMW 328 (Dr. Friedrich Eichiner / Dieter Pfundt)
No. 77 BMW 328 Mille Miglia Roadster (Heinrich Lingner / Karl Baumer)
No. 78 BMW 328 (Michael Schröder / Daniel Kiess)
No. 365 BMW 507 (Reiner Löslein / Marcel Botterweck)
[Source: BMW]
Hi,
My husband and I attended the Mille Maglia in 2009 and took some wonderful pictures of Baumer Karl and Lingner Heinrich in the number 77 BMW car – just before the start of the race.
We would like to send copies of some special pictures to these people as they are lovely and reminds us of a very wonderful time – I’m sure they would feel the same.
Are you able to get some contact details for me to send these through ?
Thanks,
Hilary
Greetings
I’m interested to note your name and wonder if I may ask if you have any genealogical records about the Rees-Thomas family or families as I am attempting to put together a family history.
We live in Wellington New Zealand and can be contacted at the email given with this reply
We envy the great time you must have enjoyed at the Mille Maglia.
Regards
Harvey Rees-Thomas