MUNICH, GERMANY – September 11, 2025 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – On 3 September 2025, a specially modified BMW R 18 Transcontinental was presented to Pope Leo XIV. for his blessing and signature during a celebratory event at the Vatican. This R 18 Transcontinental bearing the Pope’s signature will be auctioned by Missio Austria via Sotheby’s in October 2025, with the proceeds going to children’s aid projects in Madagascar.
The R 18 Transcontinental was donated by BMW Motorrad Deutschland and refined by BMW Motorrad dealer Witzel. Witzel and Thomas Draxler, founder of JESUS-BIKER®, initiated the idea to create an absolutely unique bike for the pope for a good cause. It was painted mother-of-pearl white and the coat of arms of the Vatican was affixed to it, among other modifications.
The unique motorcycle began its journey on 31 August 2025 with a ‘Peace Ride’ from Motorrad Witzel in Sennfeld to Rome, passing through Schaafheim, Altötting and Verona and accompanied by church services. Representatives of JESUS-BIKER®, BMW Motorrad and BMW Witzel joined the journey, mainly riding BMW R 18 motorcycles provided by BMW Motorrad Germany.
On Wednesday 3 September 2025, Markus Flasch, the CEO of BMW Motorrad and Michael Sommer, head of BMW Motorrad Germany, personally presented the motorcycle to the Pope for blessing and signing, after the general audience at the Vatican.
Markus Flasch sums it up: “What initially sounded more like a crazy idea has developed into a great charity campaign. I am happy that we at BMW Motorrad can support aid projects for children in Madagascar with our R18 Transcontinental. I would also like to thank Pope Leo XIV for taking the time to support this project.”
This unique R 18 Transcontinental will be on display at BMW Welt in Munich from 15 September to 7 October 2025, until the auction.
BMW Group in the United States
BMW of North America, LLC was established 50 years ago to support the sales, marketing and distribution of BMW automobiles in the U.S. BMW Motorrad was brought into the fold in 1980. In 1993 BMW Group Financial Services NA, LLC was founded, and one year later BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC began assembling vehicles in South Carolina. In 2002 and 2003, BMW Group established MINI USA, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC relaunching two iconic brands and rounding out its product portfolio.
Today, the BMW Group has a nationwide corporate footprint in the U.S. which consists of nearly 30 locations in 12 different states. Beyond the National Sales Company and Financial Services headquarters in Woodcliff Lake, NJ, its manufacturing plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and numerous other operational facilities, BMW Group in the U.S. also includes Designworks, a strategic design consultancy in Santa Monica, CA, BMW Group Technology Office USA, a technology research and development center in Silicon Valley, and BMW i Ventures, a venture capital fund, also in Silicon Valley.
BMW Group Plant Spartanburg is the largest single BMW production facility in the world, and the global center of competence for BMW Sports Activity Vehicles including the X3, X4, X5, X6, X7, and XM. The plant assembles more than 1,500 vehicles each day, and up to 450,000 annually. Since 1994, Plant Spartanburg has assembled nearly 7 million BMW vehicles in the U.S.
The BMW Group sales organization in the U.S. is represented through a network of 350 BMW retailers, 144 BMW motorcycle retailers, 105 MINI passenger car dealers, and 38 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. The company’s activities provide and support over 120,000 jobs across the U.S. and contribute more than 43.3 billion to the U.S. economy annually.
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Source: BMW of North America, LLC
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