Our passion for cars is often seen by the uninitiated as a selfish hobby, boiling down to “vroom-vrooming” behind the wheel. But that’s nonsense. And to prove it, nothing beats a good weekend, rich in encounters and good times. And what a weekend it was! A bunch of friends, between one hundred and fifty and two hundred people, three racing cars, a packed bar, a hundred cars filling the courtyard and blocking the street: in association with our friends from The Hofmeisters, we organized the first French event. That was a month ago, and now that we’ve recovered, it’s time to tell you all about it!
The Hofmeisters is a collective of friends, mainly from Germany, who come together to keep the propeller brand’s community of enthusiasts alive. If you’ve already read the magazine, you’ll have followed one of our adventures with Jasper, who invited us to Ultrace this summer. With the support of BMW Classic, they always manage to bring together some of the museum’s rarities with the cars of those who have come to meet them. And if the Ultrace was an opportunity to see Sandro Chia’s Art Car again, it’s because we also took part in a weekend at Rasi’ in Hanover last year, where the car was on display in his workshop. Two exceptional days, where in addition to admiring the E36 GTR, seeing the M3 Touring in preview [ah! the M3 Touring... ndlr] we shared good meals prepared by his friends, a walk in the countryside and beautiful meetings …
It’s in Burgundy, in the workshop of Damien and Armandthat we decided to meet up. The ideal location to welcome a good number of BMW enthusiasts, with a predominant theme: fighting. The not at all overused term to designate Arsouille, racing, or any other practice that would transform a ribbon of asphalt into a boxing ring. For this, the Team 511 was in the spotlight, with a central place in the workshop for the E36 M3, rather well surrounded. With the support of BMW Classic, we were able to exhibit two other racing cars from very different worlds.
Very rare, and unknown to most visitors, a BMW 700RS. With only two examples in the world, this little barquette is all the more desirable for its distinctive looks and technical specifications. I promise we didn’t take it for a spin, even though the urge to make its little tires scream on the surrounding roads was strong!
Under the neon lights, on the other side of the workshop, it’s a different matter. The urge to start its V8 kept us on our toes all weekend, it’s a Z4 GT3. The car is all the more interesting in that it features Michel Vaillant decoration and a special layout for driver Alessandro Zanardi.
In addition to the cars on display in the shop, there are those of all the people who came to spend the weekend with us! Different styles of car and profiles of owners, yet all here to enjoy a moment where only pleasure takes place. Some came from the other end of France, from Toulouse, Bordeaux, Haute-Savoie or Lille, but the gold medal for road trip madness goes to Beni’ and Dani’. The pair made the trip from Munich in a 1957 Taxi with over a million kilometers on the clock! What an adventure that must have been!
During the weekend, everyone was able to enjoy the thrill of the fight: over a hundred kilometers of small roads to be covered with the help of a roadbook. A chance to have a bit of fun behind the wheel, and discover the region. Careful not to break the casing, a few moments of doubt about the road ahead. We’re sure everyone scratched their heads until they found the perfect sequence of turns to drop a gear and work up an appetite for the Saturday evening party. After the effort, the comfort, with pizzas, local beers, a tattoo artist, music and more fun.
A weekend full of emotions. We felt as if a cloud of good vibrations had passed over the workshop. It was great! Bringing together all the things that motivate us most about motoring, being with friends, eating pizza and BBQs, driving on small roads and seeing beautiful machines: it was surely a success. From now on, we can’t wait to meet up again, certainly on the other side of the Rhine, and perhaps in France with our friends from Classique Autowerks?
A huge thank you to our friends who helped us all weekend long: Marie, Elodie, Damien, Brice, Laurent, Geoffrey. You’re the bests.
A big hug for Beni’, Dani’, Rasi’ and Jasper, without whom The Hofmeisters couldn’t exist. Thank you for crossing the border to come and have some fun with us, and for bringing three nuggets with you!
Thanks to Mathias and the Classique Autowerks team for their videos.
And above all, thank you all for coming in such numbers, with such respect and passion!
See you in 2024 for a Machinistic event!
