BMW’s Olympic Pavilion Provides Natural Backdrop for Green Vehicles

Peabody, 07/19/2012 / SubmitMyPR /

Though the Olympic flame may be a more recognizable symbol, BMW will instead be using water to highlight its latest innovations as Official Automotive Partner of the London 2012 Olympic Games. The luxury automaker recently revealed the design of its two-story Olympic pavilion, which will use waterfalls in place of walls as it sits atop the Waterworks River between the Olympic Stadium and the Aquatics Centre.

BMW’s sustainable Olympic pavilion will use the river’s water as a cooling source before it cascades down the sides of the structure to produce a ‘water curtain’ effect. Continuing the green theme, the pavilion will be made of steel that has a high recycled content, while the use of carbon-heavy materials like concrete has been minimized. The top floor of the BMW Olympic pavilion will display the latest BMW vehicles under a series of smaller pavilions, while the bottom level will feature interactive exhibits, including a look at the automaker’s sustainable mobility vision.

“BMW has been ranked as the most sustainable automaker in the world for the better part of a decade, and the London Olympics provide a great international venue to showcase that,” said Marshal Cabot, general manager of BMW of Peabody, a BMW dealer in Massachusetts. “The Olympic pavilion has a breathtaking design, but it’s likely that visitors will be more impressed when they get an up-close look at the environmentally friendly performance cars that BMW has developed.”

A pair of BMWs likely to be on display in London are the BMW i3 Concept all-electric city car and the i8 Concept plug-in hybrid sports car, both of which recently received a 2012 Green GOOD Design Award from The Chicago Athenaeum and the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies. Each model is built with BMW’s innovative LifeDrive architecture, meaning the cars are comprised of two separate modules to improve efficiency and performance. An aluminum Drive module houses the battery and drivetrain, while a high-strength yet lightweight Life module holds the passengers.

Buyers will have to wait until 2013 to pick up a BMW i3 or i8, but the first-ever hybrid model of the popular BMW 3 Series will be arriving at U.S. dealerships this fall. Dubbed the 2013 BMW ActiveHybrid 3, the luxury sport sedan will take on the styling of the new sixth-generation 3 Series while pairing a 3.0-liter TwinPower Turbo six-cylinder engine with an electric motor to improve power and efficiency. Though fuel-economy ratings have yet to be released, the ActiveHybrid 3 will have a combined output of 335 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque.

Those interested in checking out existing BMW 3 Series models can support U.S. Olympic athletes this summer with BMW’s Drive for Team USA Event. For each pre-registered participant that test-drives a new BMW 3 Series, BMW will make a donation to Team USA and offer that customer a $1,000 allowance toward a 2012 or 2013 BMW. Massachusetts drivers can join in on Aug. 7 at BMW of Peabody by pre-registering at www.bmwusa.com/secured/content/forms/UDESummer.aspx with the promo code “1069901”.

“The Drive for Team USA Event is an excellent way to support our nation’s finest athletes by test-driving the finest luxury sport sedan on the market,” added Cabot. “We’re even giving drivers the opportunity to test-drive the new 3 Series side-by-side against competitors, and we’re extremely confident that it will receive the gold medal in buyers’ minds.”

About BMW of Peabody:
Located minutes from downtown Boston on Route 114, BMW of Peabody takes pride in offering some of the world's finest vehicles, backing up every new and used BMW sale with their expert, customer-focused sales and service staff. Recognized as a leading Greater Boston BMW dealer, BMW of Peabody is a five-time winner of the prestigious Center of Excellence Award and offers two BMW service centers to fit the schedules of its busy customers. See their full BMW inventory online at www.bmwpeabody.com, like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bmwofpeabody, visit their showroom at 221 Andover Street in Peabody or call them at 978-538-9900.