u/neminat
This week I took delivery of my 2026 M440i Gran Coupe x-drive in Portimão Blue at the BMW Performance Center (in Greenville{ish} South Carolina). I could not be more excited. I highly recommend this to anyone that is in the area!
Performance Delivery Center (PDC) Experience
When you order your car at the dealer, you can request a PDC experience which free! Once the car arrives in the States and clears the VPC the PDC will contact the dealer to provide a date to you for the PDC Delivery in South Carolina.
The PDC Delivery is a full experience that starts at 8 AM and ends around 2 or 3 PM. The staff is incredible. You are on cloud 9 all day and everyone from the café staff to the drivers are there to make your day memorable. Your day may be in a different order as they manage the number of deliveries for the day.
The PDC will allow you and ONE other person. There is no way to expand this at all, but my 2 other guests (wife and younger son) were able to be around for the track sessions (took pictures from outside the track) and when we took delivery of the car. I am really glad they allowed them to be there for the delivery. It meant a lot to me to have my family there when I saw it for the first time.
The guest that you bring with you gets to do everything that you do! I was really hoping that my 16 yo son would be able to drive as well and he absolutely was! He had an absolute blast which was the best part of the whole day to me. I thought he would be much more reserved, but he clearly has zero fear (which is scary lol) but did a great job! He was shocked at how well the cars perform (he now has my 2012 Acura TL). It's really a wow moment.
We started out with a quick session in a classroom before hitting the track in a car similar to what you purchased. If you buy an M3, you will be in their M3. I bought the M440i GC and was in their M440i Coupe. The session starts with a braking event, then to a handling session, and then the skid pad to see the difference that traction control plays on the cars. You then wrap-up with a Hot Lap with the instructor driving. HOLY SHIT! Absolutely incredible as they 4-wheel slide that M3 Comp on every turn. So fun and reminds you that you can't drive lol!
We then took delivery of my car. What a special moment. Your car will be in a glass garage with seating etc. when you get to see it for the first time. They walk you through every aspect of the car, set up your BMW profile, customize your settings, and off you go. They ask you to park your car up on the raised curb (its rounded – you can drive up for sure) where it gets to stay for the day and encourage you to take lots of pictures.
My car parked in the garage as soon as we arrived
After that, we had lunch and headed to the offroad event. They take you in an X5 M60 to an offroad course. That was so fun and quite shocking what they can do. I cant fathom taking my 100k+ luxury SUV offroad but it is quite fun to see what it can do.
Lunch table for delivery customers
After the off-road course, we went to the BMW Museum for a private tour. They had some pretty incredible cars in there (such as a z8, 1M, McLauren F1, and Z1!). Normally they include a factory tour, but this has been closed for about a year while they redo it.
Your entire day is filled with service focused staff members there to deliver you an experience. I was on cloud 9 all day. If you have the opportunity to do a PDC delivery – DO IT! It was great.
The Timeline:
1/20 - My custom build began showing in my garage instead of the default build from the dealer the allocation was transferred from.
2/10 - Showing my assigned VIN and in "Production Begins" status
2/13 - my production date is now showing 2/24 which is 2.5 weeks earlier than scheduled
2/19 - Exterior body assembly begins
2/23 - In the paint booth (didn't move over the weekend and moved first thing Monday)
2/24 - Dispatched from the Factory (I watched it go from Entered Assembly Line / Assembly in progress / Quality Check / Final Inspection / Ready to Transport - all in one business day!)
2/27 - At the Port
3/13 - in Transit! (with a 3/30 arrival in Brunswick GA)
3/31 - Arrived in Brunswick (awaiting MPE and Black Badges install / fund the purchase / transit to the PDC)
4/08 - Released from the VPC (MPE \ Black Badge Installs)
4/14 - Funded the car at the Dealer
4/23 - Performance Center Delivery!
The Build:
Exterior: Portimao Blue
Interior: Mocha Vernasca
Trim: Carbon Fiber
Wheels: 859 Bi-Color with Staggered Summer Tires
Packages:
Drivers Assistance Pro Package
Parking Assistance Package
Premium Package
Shadowline Package
Options:
Adaptive M Suspension
Front and Rear Heated Seats
Ventilated Seats
Galvanic Controls
Sensatec Dash (wish they did a Vernasca option)
Port Installed Accessories:
Black Model Badging
M Performance Exhaust
u/neminat — 27 days ago