The venue was partitioned into two, with a black curtain holding grand secrets behind it. Invited guests slowly filled the room as we approached the auspicious hour. This secret could not escape even the least sharp of eyes – it was truly beginning to be the ‘Torque of the Town’.
We’re talking about the grand opening of the BMW Performance Munich Autos at 315 Alexandra Road. This change wasn’t just a simple relocation from 7 years at their previous facility at Teban Gardens Crescent. It involved a “complete redesign to embrace the dynamic brand style of M”, said Mr. Paul de Courtois, Managing Director, BMW Group Asia. It’s all about the fresh, vibrant, premium retail experience when visitors come to the new showroom.
Visitors to the showroom may now experience the first-ever BMW Genius, whose service stays exclusive to M Customers. Affectionately called the ‘M Genius’, he has no sales targets, and will offer his vast product knowledge to help configure customers’ dream cars to the best of his abilities. The showroom also provides a virtual product presentation with 360-degree views of products. Adding on to the premium retail experience, when customers collect their cars, there is an enhanced customer delivery suite where you may enjoy a more luxurious car-collection-experience. Finally, when things don’t go quite as planned, or when the cars require a little perk-me-up, customers may seek assistance from the M Competence Centre for servicing and repair works.
BMW has had a long-history of excellence – last year alone, approximately 67 thousands cars were sold worldwide. This year, that standard was broken with that amount of cars, already sold by October, setting new records for the company.
At the grand opening, I met Mr. Ramesh Divyanathan, BMW Sales Channel Development and Customer Management Director, who shared more about the brand with me. Honestly, I’m from camp-Jaguar, with my usual ride being an XF. While it does check every box on my dream-car checklist, I was really quite impressed by the array and experience BMW offered. So who better to ask, other than the professional himself, for recommendations! In response to my question of which BMW would match my lifestyle and driving habits, Ramesh immediately recommended the M2 Coupe.
Now the story behind this car has its roots deeply-set in the BMW history – where you find top sporting prowess in a classic rear-wheel drive, marrying precision with agility in a singular modern M automobile. Needless to say, I was sold… simply by the fact that the M2 looked so elegant.
More surprises followed the ribbon-cutting and lion dance ceremony. Yes, the bubbly was handed out and the black curtains were drawn, revealing the spanking-new showroom. All guests were issued a special wrist tag upon registration. This served as a ticket for a special viewing of the all-new BMW M5, which was parked in an exclusive viewing suite. The BMW staff revved the engine, 1997 Bond-style in Tomorrow Never Dies, where Pierce Brosnan revved his BMW 750iL, bringing you straight to the chase-sequence, adding to the drama that came along with the grandeur of the M5.
The car that was on display had a left-hand-drive make up, not something you see on Singapore roads everyday. Curious as to when the regular right-hand drive M5 would be ready in the market, the service staff shared how production for this had just begun 2 weeks prior, and would hit local shores by 2018 – no photos were allowed for this special viewing, so I counted myself pretty lucky to have snagged a few snaps along with the media tour!
Snuggled along the automotive-row, the new BMW Performance Munich Autos at 315 Alexandra Road definitely stands out and makes for a great customer shopping experience. The best part? It’s only here that you’ll be able to see BMW past, present and future all at once. Here’s to finding your very own Bond-movie moment while shopping away at the new showroom!
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