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지난 18일 독일 뮌헨에 위치한 BMW뮤지엄에서는 “흰장갑의 밤(Night of White Gloves)”이라는 특별한 행사가 열렸다. 이날에 한해 전세계 취재진들에게 면장갑을 끼고 직접 전시된 자동차들을 만져볼 수 있는 기회가 주어진 것이다.
이 곳에는 1929년도에 만들어진 최초의 BMW모델을 비롯해 올해 하반기 한국에도 출시 예정인 하이브리드스포츠카 i8까지 약 125점의 자동차들이 전시되어 있었다. 모든 차들은 당장 달릴 수 있도록 완벽하게 수리가 되어 있는 상태이다.
랄프 로데피터 관장은 “관람객들이 직접 차를 만지면서 좀 더 BMW를 가깝게 느끼도록 하는 것이 목적”이라며 비슷한 행사를 여러 해 진행했지만 파손사례는 한번도 없었다고 설명했다. “오히려 행사 이후 차들이 더 반짝거리게 되었죠.”
글로벌자동차시장의 경쟁이 치열해지면서 BMW, 벤츠, 포르쉐 등과 같은 독일럭셔리브랜드들은 최근 더욱 전통과 이미지를 마케팅포인트로 강조하고 있다. 세계 판매 1위의 프리미엄브랜드인 BMW는 이 “헤리티지(heritage)전쟁”에서도 선두를 지키고 있다.
BMW본사 바로 옆에 위치한 뮤지엄 건물은 지난 1973년 처음 만들어졌고 이후 2008년 대대적인 리노베이션을 거쳤다. 같은 해 BMW는 추가로 BMW Welt(영어로 World)라는 차량출고센터 및 브랜드갤러리를 만들게 된다.
작년 이 세 건물들은 약 290만명의 관람객을 끌어 모으며 유럽에서 가장 인기 있는 명소 중 하나로 선정되기도 했다.
BMW는 모든 차모델들은 공장에서 생산되는 즉시 뮌헨근교의 대형 창고에 보관되는 것이 원칙이고 이외에도 여전히 전세계를 돌며 희귀 BMW를 매입하고 있다고 한다.
초기 생산 모델을 제대로 보관하지 못해 여전히 브랜드뮤지엄을 짓지 못하고 있는 현대기아차로서는 무척 부러운 대목이다.
로데피터 관장은 BMW의 경영진 역시 리노베이션을 최종적으로 결정하는 데까지 수년이 걸릴 정도로 어려운 작업이라며 “현대기아차가 우리의 도움을 필요로 한다며 기꺼이 돕겠다”고 덧붙이기도 했다.
이 뮤지엄 건물은 오늘날의 BMW디자이너들에게도 큰 영감을 제공하고 있다.
카림하비브 디자인총괄은 최근 신형 3시리즈 디자인에 앞서 역대 3시리즈 모델 전부를 모아다가 품평회를 했다고 한다.
그는 “한국인디자이너들을 비롯해 동료들의 눈빛이 반짝였다”며 그들에게 BMW 자동차 창고는 크리스마스시즌의 장난감가게와 마찬가지라고 설명했다.
“한번 좋은 디자인을 만드는 것은 쉬울지도 모르겠습니다. 중요한 것은 끊임없이 좋은 디자인을 선보이는 것”이라며 전통의 힘을 강조했다.
한편 BMW는 올해 7월 한국에 드라이빙트랙과 브랜드뮤지엄이 합쳐진 복합공간을 세계 최초로 선보인다. 로데피터 관장은 몇몇 빈티지카들이 독일에서 직접 공수될 예정이라고 넌지시 밝히기도 했다.
(뮌헨=코리아헤럴드 이지윤 기자 jylee@heraldcorp.com)
<관련 영문기사>
A stroll through BMW’s heritage
Some veteran cars from Germany likely to arrive at Korean driving center
By Lee Ji-yoon Korea Herald correspondent
MUNICH, Germany -- On March 18, BMW officials handed over a pair of white gloves to international journalists who participated in a press conference with the brand’s design chief Karim Habib at the BMW Museum located in Munich. Called the “Night of White Gloves,” the guests were allowed to explore the heritage of the brand by strolling through the museum building and do what is normally forbidden -- touch the cars.
About 125 vehicles were displayed at the 4,000 square-meter museum site, ranging from the very first BMW model made in 1929 to the latest i8 hybrid sports car. They were all in perfect condition and touchable on the day.
“There has been no damage to the cars so far,” said Ralf Rodepeter, director of the museum, adding that the same event last year attracted some 4,000 visitors in a single day.
“The event aims to allow people to touch and get into the cars and get a closer relation with BMW brands,” he said. “The cars also become shiner than before.”
For German luxury carmakers, now competition relies on heritage and image as much as horsepower and handling. BMW, the No. 1 brand in the premium segment, seems also to be a winner in the fierce heritage battle.
The museum first opened in 1973 and was enlarged and redesigned in 2008 as part of the carmaker’s brand expansion that also includes the adjacent headquarters building, also known as the Four-Cylinder building, and the famous BMW Welt, a giant delivery center and a public gallery.
In 2013, the BMW “ensemble” attracted 2.9 million visitors from 22 different countries, becoming one of the most popular tourist sites in Europe, legendary chairman Norbert Reithofer bragged about it at a recent media event.
The museum tour consists of 25 exhibition areas on BMW, BMW Motorrad, Mini and Rolls-Royce. The range of topics covers the history of the company, brands and products, combined with a broad range of developments in design, technology and motor sports.
“During the roughly two-hour tour, visitors become part of an intense brand experience,” said the museum chief who has been in charge of the museum since its renewal in 2007.
According to him, all the BMW cars are taken when they are produced and are stored at a giant garage outside Munich. BMW officials are still looking all over the world for special design cars or those driven by celebrities.
“It’s an ongoing process,” he added.
The museum and the vast collection of BMW cars are also a great inspiration for today’s BMW designers, including five Koreans, said the chief designer Karim Habib, who is credited with the current 7 Series design.
“We recently started talking about the next 3 Series. So we took all of our 3 Series from our garage, and my colleagues were all more than happy,” he said.
For the BMW employees, the BMW garage is as wondrous as a toy store at Christmas time.
BMW builds heritage in Korea
The BMW Driving Center, consisting of a race track and a brand museum, will open in July on Yeongjong Island near Incheon International Airport.
“Korea is a very important market for us, with our sales there almost tripling over the past five years,” Ian Robertson, BMW’s sales chief, said of his expectations about the first facility of its kind set up outside Germany.
The facility will be equipped with six tracks, a museum, gallery and a training center on a 236,000 square-meter site on the island, some 40 kilometers west of Seoul.
The Korean unit expects about 200,000 visitors from home and abroad annually as it will be created like a theme park where families can have fun participating in various programs.
The BMW Museum chief also hinted that some veteran cars of the carmaker’s garage could be sent to Korea to spice up the experience of local motorists at the new facility.
By Ji-yoon Lee (jylee@heraldcorp.com)
A stroll through BMW’s heritage
Some veteran cars from Germany likely to arrive at Korean driving center
By Lee Ji-yoon Korea Herald correspondent
MUNICH, Germany -- On March 18, BMW officials handed over a pair of white gloves to international journalists who participated in a press conference with the brand’s design chief Karim Habib at the BMW Museum located in Munich. Called the “Night of White Gloves,” the guests were allowed to explore the heritage of the brand by strolling through the museum building and do what is normally forbidden -- touch the cars.
About 125 vehicles were displayed at the 4,000 square-meter museum site, ranging from the very first BMW model made in 1929 to the latest i8 hybrid sports car. They were all in perfect condition and touchable on the day.
“There has been no damage to the cars so far,” said Ralf Rodepeter, director of the museum, adding that the same event last year attracted some 4,000 visitors in a single day.
“The event aims to allow people to touch and get into the cars and get a closer relation with BMW brands,” he said. “The cars also become shiner than before.”
For German luxury carmakers, now competition relies on heritage and image as much as horsepower and handling. BMW, the No. 1 brand in the premium segment, seems also to be a winner in the fierce heritage battle.
The museum first opened in 1973 and was enlarged and redesigned in 2008 as part of the carmaker’s brand expansion that also includes the adjacent headquarters building, also known as the Four-Cylinder building, and the famous BMW Welt, a giant delivery center and a public gallery.
In 2013, the BMW “ensemble” attracted 2.9 million visitors from 22 different countries, becoming one of the most popular tourist sites in Europe, legendary chairman Norbert Reithofer bragged about it at a recent media event.
The museum tour consists of 25 exhibition areas on BMW, BMW Motorrad, Mini and Rolls-Royce. The range of topics covers the history of the company, brands and products, combined with a broad range of developments in design, technology and motor sports.
“During the roughly two-hour tour, visitors become part of an intense brand experience,” said the museum chief who has been in charge of the museum since its renewal in 2007.
According to him, all the BMW cars are taken when they are produced and are stored at a giant garage outside Munich. BMW officials are still looking all over the world for special design cars or those driven by celebrities.
“It’s an ongoing process,” he added.
The museum and the vast collection of BMW cars are also a great inspiration for today’s BMW designers, including five Koreans, said the chief designer Karim Habib, who is credited with the current 7 Series design.
“We recently started talking about the next 3 Series. So we took all of our 3 Series from our garage, and my colleagues were all more than happy,” he said.
For the BMW employees, the BMW garage is as wondrous as a toy store at Christmas time.
BMW builds heritage in Korea
The BMW Driving Center, consisting of a race track and a brand museum, will open in July on Yeongjong Island near Incheon International Airport.
“Korea is a very important market for us, with our sales there almost tripling over the past five years,” Ian Robertson, BMW’s sales chief, said of his expectations about the first facility of its kind set up outside Germany.
The facility will be equipped with six tracks, a museum, gallery and a training center on a 236,000 square-meter site on the island, some 40 kilometers west of Seoul.
The Korean unit expects about 200,000 visitors from home and abroad annually as it will be created like a theme park where families can have fun participating in various programs.
The BMW Museum chief also hinted that some veteran cars of the carmaker’s garage could be sent to Korea to spice up the experience of local motorists at the new facility.
By Ji-yoon Lee (jylee@heraldcorp.com)
