September usually rhymes with back-to-school, grayness and busy schedules. But while we’ve got our heads in the sand, we hear that something is afoot across the Rhine; an event organized by Hofmeisters collective in collaboration with mechanical wizard Raab Classic that you really shouldn’t miss.
That’s all it takes to open Google Maps and calculate the route.
– 1st problem: From Annecy, it’s a 668 km drive to Rothenburg ob der Tauber airfield, where the event will take place.
– 2nd problem: We have 48 hours to get there and back and take part in the event. Our old E30s are not suited to such a mission.
Some time ago Armand and I had a literal barroom chat over a beer. He announced that he was intrigued by the BMW i7, the flagship of the brand with the propeller. “It may be electric, with a singular design, but I find it has a kind of charisma that makes you want to get behind the wheel,” he told me. We’ve been waiting for an opportunity to try it out ever since. Here, it’s too perfect.
Thanks to BMW France, we’re discovering a new way to enjoy a road trip, with elegance, silence and comfort. Let’s get busy? After leaving the tranquil shores of Lake Annecy, we hit the first roads of the Jura, with their twists and turns and breathtaking panoramas. These narrow roads, lined with dense forests and verdant mountains, allow the i7 to give us an astonishing demonstration of agility, with handling so precise you’d think the car was on rails.
In fact, once on the autobahn, this particular feeling takes on its full meaning: this is a TGV. The tachometer displays speeds that will take you back in time, with the only music being the whistling of Aeolus. 9 hours on the road and two recharges later, we’re beginning to smell the sweet scent of beer and pretzels…
Arriving at Rothenburg airfield, we were delighted to find our friend Jasper and his gang of friends from The Hofmeisters. As usual, they had a vision of the event that made it special.
As you approach the central square, where Hangar 50 is located, you can see a starting grid with 5 racing cars perfectly lined up. The devil is in the detail, they say, and in this case the devil is with us today. It takes the form of an E36 designed to take on the Audi S4 Quattro, Volvo 850 and Renault Laguna of the nineties.
BMW Classic has brought out of the museum walls the legendary BMW E36 STW (Super Tourenwagen) that dominated the German Touring Car Championship (DTM) in the 1990s. The great racing names that adorn the rear quarter panels – Cecotto, Winkelhock and Soper – arouse the admiration of the crowd of onlookers.
The presence of these legendary vehicles, alongside collectors’ models restored by passionate enthusiasts, clearly shows how BMW’s heritage continues to live on through the generations. What’s more, the mechanical guest list on the tarmac is top-notch… Many fans of the brand with the propeller have made the trip with their racing cars. We don’t know where to put our eyes, so subtly well thought-out are the cars on display. There’s real research behind every modification/improvement, whether in terms of styling or performance. Good engines, beautiful rims, arches, the Germans have undeniable taste, and they’re not afraid to modify their cars as they see fit.
To liven up the static aspect of the vehicles on display, pairs of cylinders roar in the distance on the track. Between in-line 6s and V8s, our ears pick up those sweet mechanical melodies. At the bend in the aisle, we come across familiar faces, friends we see every year at motoring events. The car is a great vehicle for experience. Who’d have thought we’d find ourselves in Bavaria, on a runway, drinking Pils with sausages, while chatting with friends from another country?
After browsing the huge exhibition, comfortably seated on one of the Hangar’s sofas between a Cessna 172 and a BMW E36 Class II, I amuse myself by observing the people who have come to share a moment around this single common point, a 4-wheeled object. At that moment, a feeling of comfort comes over me: passion is alive and well, and knows no boundaries. There are days you wish would never end, and this is definitely one of them.
At the end of the day, the sun casts a delicate orange glow over the E36 STWs carefully laid out on the tarmac for a final family photo before everyone hits the road again…
Es lebe das Auto, die Freunde und die Brezeln
