02Meet Denmark 2004

It’s 10 a.m. on sunny Saturday the 14th of August 2004 and the first few classic BMW’s are entering the courtyard at Steffensgaard in the middle of Sealand in Denmark for the first 02Meet Denmark. First some Danes and a Brit, then a convoy of Swedes, more Danes and finally a convoy of Norwegians. It’s quite an impressive collection of 60’s and 70’s BMW’s with 30 cars now assembled in the courtyard. The majority are obviously 02’s counting 22 of which six are Tourings, one Turbo and an early 1600 convertible. The others are a 2000CS, an E3 2500 and an E3 3,0Si, a beautiful Polaris Silver 3,0CSL, two E12’s of which one is a rare M535i, an E23 745i and a stunning E24 628CSiA. What’s more impressive is that 15 of these classic BMW’s have been driven here by their owners from abroad – one from the UK, seven from Sweden and seven from Norway!

About 60 BMW enthusiasts are now chatting away – envying each others pride and joy. The courtyard is buzzing with life. Some have brought along their spare parts and have started a boot sale, while others are sharing their BMW books or period brochures amongst a crowd. Photo albums of BMW restorations or previously attended BMW meets are littering several BMW bonnets. Furthermore, BMW promotion films from the 60’s thru to the early 80’s are shown on a large screen inside Steffengaards assembly room.

Our host at Steffensgaard, Preben Bois, is also rather fanatical about classic cars. Luckily he invites us into his barns where he stores a breathtaking collection of classic cars. The variety is amazing. The majority are regular family cars from the early 50’s to the late 70’s, but there is also a fair share of rare and exotic luxury cars, coupes and sports cars. However some of the barns are not meant for our eyes - I suppose this is where the really rare cars are hidden – so it’s hard to say how many cars are packed into the barns, but certainly at least 100. Most of the cars are in need of restoration, but Preben Bois is taking them one at a time through his workshop, and the cars condition aside, it certainly gets people talking as we all try to take it all in.

It’s time for lunch and in the assembly room BMW Club Denmark is the host. In the mean time the votes for the Walloth & Nesch sponsored “Peoples Choice Concours de Charme” are counted up. The winner is Norwegian Öyvind Seielstad with his perfectly restored BMW 2002 from 1969 in Sahara Beige. The proud owner is presented with a Euro 50.- gift voucher from Walloth & Nesch, who also sponsored notebooks and 02/CS pens for all the participants. Paul Hill wins the award for the furthest travelled as he drove 1145 kilometres from the UK in his ’81 M535i accompanied by his 4 year old daughter.

But there are many other beautiful BMW’s at the meet. A Norwegian BMW 2002 tii Alpina from ’74 in Gulf Yellow is a real crowd pleaser. It has it all : 15” Alpina alloys, Alpina front spoiler and a complete Alpina interior, but more important, an Alpina A4S engine, 5 speed dogleg gearbox, limited slip diff and a complete Alpina suspension!! There’s also a white 2002 Touring with Turbo arches and a 2,3 litre M3 E30 engine. It seems a shame this M2 is parked as a car like this can surely only be enjoyed to the full when driven in anger… Amongst the non-modified cars there is a beautiful and very rare BMW 1600 Convertible from 1970 in Polaris Silver. True to spirit the owner drove the 02 top down for 200 kilometres to the event, all during the event and then 200 kilometres home again. Another crowd favourite is a one-owner Agave Green BMW 2002 from 1972. It’s unrestored and still in its original factory paint and has only covered 92,000 kilometres!

Suddenly the rural peace and quiet is broken by a deep and thunderous V8 roar! With rear wheels spinning Preben Bois enters the courtyard in an unrestored Glas 3000 GT V8 from 1967! The elegant Frua designed coupe certainly needs a little love and care but it is not really in such a poor state and the uneven rumbling of the V8 sends shivers through the crowd. All at once Preben has gathered everybody around just one car and the characteristic design is discussed vividly while the ultra rare coupe is examined closer.

It’s almost 3 p.m. and it’s time to move on. The 30 classic BMW’s line up for a tour through the idyllic small towns and beautiful landscapes of Midsealand. We stop at Jystrup Automobile Museum which is a real treat. With approximately 30 cars on display, the museum relies on quality rather than quantity. Amongst others there are pre-war cars from Horch, Panhard, Cadillac and Bugatti sitting next to a very early Corvette, an Alfa-Romeo 2600 Spider and a 90’s Jaguar XJ220. Every car is absolutely immaculate just like the rest of the museum, which is also rich on automobilia and a huge die-cast model museum.

After lining our BMW’s up for a group photo outside the museum we continue our tour. It’s truly breathtaking watching the convoy of BMW’s make its way through the scenery and going through the small towns we get a lot of smiles and approving nods from the locals. But once we’re back on more deserted roads, some of us towards the end of the convoy ease of a bit to create a gap. The Alpina in front of me guns it through a couple of tight corners. I let the two double Webers take a deep breath and suddenly I’m on the old Nürburgring drifting my 02 around corners just managing to hang on to Hans Stuck in front of me – until three corners later anyway when we catch up with the rest of the convoy again… Back to reality!!

At 6 p.m. we all pull up at a small idyllic half-timbered farmhouse with thatched roof and all, situated in the middle of the woods. It’s been converted to a restaurant so it’s time for us to let the old BMW’s rest while we have dinner and reflect on a wonderful day with equal minded enthusiasts. The first 02Meet Denmark has definitely been a success which we hope to repeat next year…

Text and photos by: Anders Bilidt, Chairman of the 02section BMW Club Denmark