Out & About: BMW Performance Center West

Squealing tires! Burning rubber! Whether you’re an adrenaline junkie, a fan of BMWs, or harbor Fast & Furious fantasies, the BMW Performance Center in nearby Thermal is guaranteed to get your heart pounding. Set against a beautiful mountain backdrop on 32 acres, the Performance Center is open to the public and offers a range of luxury driving experiences and thrilling handling lessons behind the wheels of high-performance BMW vehicles. Try your hand at drifting on a wet skid pad, hit the race track for a few hot laps, go off-road in an X series, or don VR goggles for an incredible M series mixed reality adventure. The Performance Center is an exciting place to spend a few hours or even a full day on your next Palm Springs getaway.

Driver’s Schools

For a once-in-a-lifetime ultimate driving experience packed with lots of skill-building and time behind the wheel, invest in one of the center’s full-day programs. Driver’s School starts with a brief classroom session, then takes you out to the track where a professional instructor will help hone your technique in a specially outfitted BMW. You’ll learn about stability control, practice panic breaking from high speeds, and try your hand at drifting on the center’s incredible wet skid pad. After lunch, you’ll hit the Handling Course, then finish with a timed lap to show your competitive side and put everything you’ve learned to the test.

In M School you’ll take the wheel of a high-powered BMW M vehicle, learning to push the car’s 400 horsepower motor to it’s limits. Accelerate, corner and brake faster than you ever have before. The day ends with a hair-raising hot lap in an instructor-driven M vehicle. Buckle up!

Driving Experiences

Want a full-on thrill but don’t want to invest in a full day? The Performance Center also offers a variety of shorter sessions called “driving experiences.” Spend a couple hours behind the wheels of various BMW vehicles, driving each through tight corners and fast straightaways on the track. Participate in the Summer Competition with timed runs and drag racing. Or hop into an M car and try to keep up with an instructor for six exhilarating laps at one of three Thermal Club racing circuits. No matter which you choose, you’re guaranteed an adrenaline rush.

However, if you’re looking for something truly mind-bending (and don’t have a problem with motion sickness), the M Mixed Reality Experience will not disappoint. Imagine driving a real M series vehicle on an actual closed track, with a professional driver in the passenger seat. Slipping on a virtual reality headset, you’ll find yourself transported Matrix-style to a virtual racetrack where you’ll compete in time-trials, avoid crazy obstacles, and try to nab floating “time coins — kinda like in Mario Kart. All while actually driving a real car at high speeds with over 400 horsepower at your disposal. It’s an extraordinary fusion of the virtual and physical worlds, and a morning you won’t soon forget.

Getting There

The BMW Performance Center West is located about 50 minutes southeast of Descanso in the town of Thermal. Whether you go for a full day or a few hours, you’ll be treated to a truly heart-pumping luxury experience on the track. All that adrenaline doesn’t come cheap, but if you love to drive and want to test your limits, this is the place.