Eurofest 2013

It only feels like a year ago that we heard of and attended a new show called ‘Eurofest’, but in fact it was three. Organized primarily by the BMW Drivers Club of SA and held on the grounds of the National Motor Museum at Birdwood, Eurofest was run by a fresh, younger group of enthusiasts and promised to offer something a little different from the other shows out there.

Personally, I thought it was a top day out but if there was one criticism to be leveled, it’s that it was predominantly a BMW/Mercedes-Benz show. For some reason a lot of other European marque clubs didn’t get behind it, which I thought was a shame given the potential of the concept and the energetic crew making it happen.

But after attending the third Eurofest, I’m proud to say that this event is quickly coming of age and the turnout this year was simply brilliant. It was still a predominantly German based field, which is to be expected, but what impressed me the most was not the country of origin of the cars but the sheer number of styles and cultures that harmoniously clashed on the lawns of the mill.

The M drive

On the way back from the Eurofest show at Birdwood, my friend Felix and I found ourselves travelling some of the best roads in South Australia in a rather esteemed convoy.   Whilst the Volkswagen Scirocco R that we were driving would ordinarily be pretty cool, it was easily overshadowed by the three cars ahead of us; three high revving driving machines bearing the famous tricolour ‘Motorsport’ emblem.

For the record, I use the term ‘found ourselves’ very loosely – it was through subtle eavesdropping and possibly a little skullduggery that we learnt of Alvin Chua’s plans after the show, and thankfully due to his kind-natured sense of fun and generosity, and possibly simply not wanting to disappoint two guys with ‘kids-in-the-candy-store’ looks on their faces, that he graciously suggested we tag along. Feeling very much like the poor cousins, but not caring one bit, we pulled away from the National Motor Museum behind a lineup consisting of E30 M3, ultra rare E46 M3 CSL and new 1M. Three M cars, three different generations, and three different philosophies. But the one goal.

We might as well begin with the oldest car in our trio, a car which has gone down in history as one of the great drivers cars of all time, the E30 M3. The first of the 3 series to wear the M badge, the E30 M3 was a homologation model built from 1986 to enable BMW to go touring car racing against the likes of the Mercedes-Benz 190E.

Powered by the famous S14 2.3 litre inline 4 initially producing around 200hp, the E30 M3 is surprisingly quick given its age and power – a kerb weight of 1200kg in full road trim and an almost perfect 48/52 weight distribution means there is very little out there that can match an E30 M3 for sheer driving nirvana.

Eurofest 2012

The second running of the Eurofest show at the Birdwood Mill took place last Sunday 2nd December. A fresh idea from the BMW Driver’s Club of SA, Eurofest aims to bring together as many European cars as possible in one place.

Whilst the aim of the show is to encompass all European cars, at this stage early in its life Eurofest still has a very heavy German influence. There were examples from Fiat, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Renault, Vauxhall and Ford, but BMW and Mercedes Benz definitely made up the bulk of the show.

The other cool thing about Eurofest is that it’s predominantly a ‘young’ show, put on and organised by younger people. I don’t mean to comment on age, but just to say that a persons age has a lot to do with the way they modify their cars, and there was a lot of stuff at happening at Eurofest that you wouldn’t otherwise see – proper stance, airbags, big power upgrades  and insane levels of detailing.

You’d never see something like a ‘bagged E28 at an event like Climb to the Eagle. Not better or worse, just different. Variety is the spice of life, right? We’re lucky that we can see this diversity at the different events we have.

Having said that, the car of show was awarded to this pristine 1953 Mercedes Benz 300S.

eurofest 2011

Eurofest was held on the weekend at the Birdwood Motor Museum. Organised by the BMW club, it turned out to be a really top day. There will certainly be more Italian content at next years event however.