[F15GorDe]

Originally Posted by bradleyland

Bunch of whiners :P

SC is actually the optimal location for the East Coast (as a whole). Spartanburg is a day-drive anywhere from New York, NY (12 hrs) to Miami, FL (11 hrs). Most people fly to Spartanburg, then drive back. We drove both ways (from SoFL), and really enjoyed the drive. Spartanburg is located such that it makes a lot of sense to spend a lot of that drive on the Blue Ridge taking your time. Hell, we had it worse because it takes 5 hours to get out of Florida. There aren't many worse drives than Florida outside of the Midwest. It's nothing but ugly ass Slash Pine trees, fields of Palmettos with interspersed Cabbage Palms, and ugly towns. From the NE, you can take I-78/I-81 (which is a hell of a lot better drive than I-95/I-26). You can pick up the Blue Ridge anywhere past I-64. We ended up taking the long way around, staying in Atlanta for a night, just so we could drive through the mountains.

Obviously SC isn't close to you guys in the NE, but it makes PCD accessible to a lot more folks than if it were up there.

Pretty well sums up my thoughts.

[F15GorDe]

IF they ever do PCD there it would be in 2-3 yrs at earliest. I did ask and the main limitation is the requirement for a full shop. Right now they use the dealer in Palm Springs to maintain their fleet over here. So to deliver a car you need to be able to prep it or fix it like a dealer or as they do Spartanburg. So, sorry don't count on it for a long time if ever. It is a big flat dirt pan right now


...all well thought out projects begin. Doesn't take much to foresee an ambitious plan here!

[bradleyland]

Originally Posted by BarryB

The track is OK, flat with straights connected by hairpins. Much like a paper clip. They are building 2 more that will ultimately make a 4.7 mile course which looks fantastic. Look at the whole outer loop from the map.

IF IF they ever do PCD there it would be in 2-3 yrs at earliest. I did ask and the main limitation is the requirement for a full shop. Right now they use the dealer in Palm Springs to maintain their fleet over here. So to deliver a car you need to be able to prep it or fix it like a dealer or as they do Spartanburg. So, sorry don't count on it for a long time if ever. It is a big flat dirt pan right now

Yeah, that makes sense. With PCD, the cars get really abused day in and day out. They pretty much have to have an on-site maintenance facility.

[4corners]

Good for BMW of Palm Springs for sure.

[DrivenByE30]

Genius idea ... they are going to make a boat load of money ....

This is like a Golf retreat ... but with Cars...

It's a good time to have money

[aksi]

So excited to hear about the news. I am not too far from the location!
Quick google map search.. I think I found the location.
Though I have no idea when this sat image was taken.

[ft1330]

Originally Posted by M3 Adjuster

Translation: I wish they would put one in my back yard ..... yeah.. they definitely need to put one closer to me.. Because it's so much harder to get to South Carolina from the North East than it is from the WEST COAST.

me.. me.. me.. !

Cool story but you must have missed the part about the NE being the major metro area in this country. Of course as a Texan you are in your own world so I can understand the lack of awareness

[ORIGIN M.]

Originally Posted by BarryB

...So, sorry don't count on it for a long time if ever. It is a big flat dirt pan right now

Don't plan on it for a long time?

BMW is not going to do anything half ass. However, they will rush it, if it is possible.

Time is now - Time is money !!!

[BEMR]

Originally Posted by 4corners

Good for BMW of Palm Springs for sure.

Might as well start here with my first post hello to all! Awaiting shipment of Alpine White M4 in the middle of the Atlantic right now according to AIC Marine Traffic due to Port Hueneme 9.24.14. Like waiting for a birth of a child.

Anyway like most glad to see a performance center coming to CA. Fell in love with the Spartanburg PC in 04. With the purchase of 6 series came the BMW Experience 3 days of fun and performance driving for free all you needed was airfare BMW paid for the rest. Greenville Spartanburg one of the best kept secrets in America advise anybody to take the trip if at all possible, BMW assembly plant producing 1200 cars a day, performance center, and a lot of happy BMW employees that's for sure, never seen anything like it anywhere, especially from a non union workforce. Loved it so much there bought a second home in nearby Taylors SC.

I currently reside about 60 miles from the Thermal Performance Center here in CA, although going to be cool to have it nearby, IMO going to be hard to match Spartanburg. Yes upstate western SC can have some weather, but the harsh dry 100 - 115 summer days can really make it miserable for quite a few months during the year. Most of the area around Palm Springs, Indio, Thermal populates heavily during the cooler months from Northern Snowbirds coming to get away from the super cold months of winter. The population triples for about 5 months a year then dwindles to nothing. Just a little FYI on that for those planning to visit.

And yes, BMW of Palm Springs, a smaller store could definitely benefit from this little adventure.

[SD ///M4]

Amazing how someone mentions "PCD" in conjunction with this announcement, purely as speculation, and now everyone is planning their PCD there, as early as the end of this year.

"BMW will have their own dedicated 6 acres to build a new track and facility. BMW is currently constructing the 1.4 mile race track, skid pad as well as a building for class rooms on the Thermal Club’s property. The company says they have no intentions of using this location for Performance Center new car deliveries similar to the Spartanburg, South Carolina location."

Just found this article that says 32 acres, adjacent to The Thermal Club, and will include it's own track:
The Desert Sun

[Charlie@McKennaBMWService]

This place is awesome BMW invited some of our dealer associates there yesterday for an all day track experience, place is unforgettable...

[Optherion]

Originally Posted by lux

Looks like they are trying to develop private garages and villas around the track property. Interesting concept but that would be the last place I'd want to locate my vacation home.

The first track lower track is finished. There are 2 more configurations coming that connect into the first one. Bmw is building a 4th.

They are not vacation homes, they are private garage. Store anywhere from 6-10 race cars depending on the size you purchase. Two story. Top deck for entertainment, relaxation living area, cooking, and view of the track. Ive been several times over the last year. Were talking the most elite of the elite. Fly in to the private airport, have your toys ready and hit the track. The conditions are near F1 pavement. If all the facilitates go in over the next few years, this could be one of the nicest tracks in the country.

The BMW addition is great news for everyone. Unless you shell out a million dollars. Yes a million + Dollars ($100k+ for a membership and the terms require you build a private garage speced around 700k-1million including the lot). The BMW driving classes are the only way at this time you'll be hitting the pavement. Its a Win win for everyone. Its truly growing into an incredible destination. I've seen it grow the past year from the grand opening when BMW brought out a ton of cars, Bugatti brought a Vitesse, and Aston brought a bunch of prepared cars.

And since many people still think its dirt Heres a lap. Sign up for the BMW event asap. I had a chance to go several times already but they were private invite back in the days when it was only a discussion about BMW possibly opening up a facility there. So this is incredible news for everyone that the hand shaking is official.

[BEMR]

That doesn't get any better

[mvallido]

I will try calling 1-888-345-4BMW and see if I can book a California session.

[-Ryan-]

I got invited to attend a BMW event there next week so I'll update this thread with my experience.

[FairfaxM3]

Originally Posted by -Ryan-

I got invited to attend a BMW event there next week so I'll update this thread with my experience.

Interested in your update, if you have a chance to post. Thanks!

[-Ryan-]

Originally Posted by FairfaxM3

Interested in your update, if you have a chance to post. Thanks!

I forgot I posted on here. I should of taken more pics while i was there but I didn't really think about it at the time. Below are some pics i had on my phone.

So the Thermal Club is going to be an amazing place. Sadly I don't think I'll ever be wealthy enough to be a member. I hope to at least get access through BMW events.

To give you an idea of the money, when I first got there i saw a semi parked off to the side with a Veyron and an Aventador parked next to it. Someone told me they were there because a prospective member wanted to try them out. I was told the person bought the Veyron and a LaFerrari (which I didn't see) one of the villas and another piece of land.



Here's a couple shots of the track. It was brand new and in excellent condition. I'm sure it will always be kept that way. You can see a couple villas they are building in the back. The villas sit right on the wall surrounding the track so the view/experience from the balconies is going to be amazing.






There was a good size stable filled with Porsches and at least one E30 M3. Regrettably, I didn't take any pics of that. The gas pumps had 91, 100 and 110 octane. That looked pretty cool. I didn't take a pic of that either. Here's a cool little lounge I poked my head in.



On to the event. It was about 25 of us total. Here's a pic of the side of temporary building we were in.



Here's the lunch they had waiting for us when we arrived.



After lunch we had a brief classroom session explaining seating position, car dynamics, when to brake etc. Just basic stuff. We were divided up into smaller groups and then it was off to drive.

The first thing we got to do is take turns driving a couple different vehicles around the south section of the track following an instructor. Nothing crazy, we may of got up to 90 mph on the straightaway at most. There was an i8, M235i, M6 vert and X6M. Here's some of the cars.




Then we got to autox M4s. the course took around 20-25 seconds to go get around. We took about 5 laps each. That was a lot of fun. It's fun beating the shit out of someone else's car. No pics. Lastly we took turns driving M6 gran coupes on the north section of the track following a driving instructor. That was a lot of fun as well. The M6 is big fast beast. No pics of that either.

All and all it was a pretty fun day. I'm looking forward to future BMW events out there.

Here's some local guys GT3 RS that was at the BMW event too.

[FairfaxM3]

Thanks for posting.

[RJVIII]

I want to go here so bad. Palm Springs is one of my favorite places to vacation.

[variable229]

Originally Posted by F15GorDe

IF they ever do PCD there it would be in 2-3 yrs at earliest.

I was at their Thermal track yesterday and spoke with their BMW instructors. They can already accommodate PCD, but it has to be coordinated with one of the local BMW Thermal track managers. If you try to coordinate a PCD with your dealer, they'll contact South Carolina and will be confused.

So you don't have to wait 2-3 years, yes you can do it now.

[Jason]

New promo clip below.

Also, if you haven't seen your fellow BIMMERPOST member's account of the first M Performance Driving School at The Thermal Club, read about it here: http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1091692

[Mr.SugarSkulls]

So we can have our cars delivered here after an individual build order??