Gallery: BMW’s M car birthday party

It was only recently that BMW tore the dust sheets off their old, colourful race cars to help the general public exercise their salivary glands. But they were static displays. Now, for the 40th birthday of BMW M GmbH - formerly known as BMW Motorsport GmbH - they're taking a selection of their legendary race cars for a pensioners' run around the Nurburgring.

Next weekend (10th-12th August) it's the Nürburgring Oldtimer-Grand-Prix held at the famous Eifel race track. BMW will be taking a selection of race cars that go back to Genesis in 1972. These include two BMW M1 Group 4 racers, a BMW 320 Group 5 car, a BMW M3 Group A (1987) model and the BMW 320i STW (1995).

They're not just bringing out the legendary cars - renowned drivers from a time gone by are coming out of the woodwork to pilot them. These include Dieter Quester, Prince Leopold of Bavaria, Marc Surer and Marc Hessel and BMW's head honcho of the drawing department, Adrian van Hooydonk.

So if your blood flows in M's famous red, blue, and purple coulours, join the expected 60,000 enthusiasts by buying a ticket here. 

If you can't make it, don't worry. Click through the gallery above to see old racers from BMW's glory days testing at BMW's facility in Aschheim, near Munich.

Photo Credit: E90post.com