Why Is BMW The Most Popular Marque At Ultrace?

Welcome back to the second gallery of our Ultrace 2023 coverage. In the first, we focused on the incredible weekend as a whole, and I gave you the mighty difficult task of trying to figure out what the most popular theme of the weekend was. Amongst all the cars on show at Ultrace, there was one brand that stood out to me, and it was right up my street.

So perhaps it wasn’t that difficult to guess that the Bavarian badge would be making an appearance here; we’re in Poland after all. But even I wasn’t ready for just how many BMWs would be present at the event.

If you’ve ever been on the internet, you would have probably seen the endless stereotypes associating Eastern Europe with Germanic automobiles from the 1990s. We go together like salt and pepper. For most though, ending up with a BMW is a premeditated choice with good reasons to support it.

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When it comes to value for money, a BMW easily takes the crown in most aspects. While prices of most ’90s cars are currently on the rise, BMWs have spent the last five years at brink bottom, offering affordable, raw automotive fun with little to no drawbacks. Maybe you’d have to fight a little bit of rust here and there, but realistically this applies to anything made of metal produced 30 years ago. I’m looking at you, team Nissan.

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Build quality, generally speaking, was brilliant. Nice-feeling leather, buttons which didn’t wear away, plastics which don’t rattle with age and, most importantly, silky-smooth six cylinder engines as strong as an ox.

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You could service an M52 on sand and pond water and it wouldn’t let you down. But on the rare occasion it did, a replacement part is no more expensive than a takeaway dinner and would probably take just as long to arrive at your doorstep.

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Add in attractive design and a drivetrain powering the rear wheels, and you’ve got a compelling package for anyone with an itch for motoring.

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As we’ve already established, the Poles have this itch like nobody else, it seems. I too fall into this demographic, with the last six cars I’ve owned being blessed by the blue and white roundel on the bonnet. And I’ve only owned six cars.

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My favourite of the bunch? Come on, that’s like asking Kris Jenner which one of her kids is her favourite.

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As an E38 owner, my lawyers have told me not to answer the question, but what I can do is show you around some of the lovely E38s that I saw at Ultrace as a way to kick things off.

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Now, I’m not sure why this is, but the older I get the more embarrassed I feel having to admit that I do in fact enjoy a static car with an extra topping of negative camber. Maybe it’s because -12 degrees with stretched tyres doesn’t always go hand in hand with the very mature art of hunting speed, but I love all cars and couldn’t help but enjoy this simple E38 on a set of Leon Hardiritt Herzogs. It’s rare to see someone go for tight fitment on this chassis, and it’s a pleasant change from all the other ones tucking 20-inch wheels.

Staying on the 7 Series wave, how about this E32 with the ever rare Car Design Schaht rear boot lid? Fun Easter egg for those who don’t speak Polish: The number plate on this one directly translates to ‘forever.’ Effortlessly stylish.

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Need something a little more out there and wacky? How about a N54-swapped E36 Compact rocking a full E9x interior? How its owner, Halfdan Vatn, managed to fit chunky modern-day door cards onto an E36 door I really don’t know. If the car seems familiar, it might be because it graced the pages of Speedhunters last year, albeit with a slightly different look.

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If that’s not unicorn enough for you, how about an E30 M3 Touring?

I absolutely love homemade conversions shooting into the taboo world of fiction, and this car gave me a quick insight into a parallel universe where BMW didn’t start the M3 Touring at the G81. I wonder what’s under the bonnet?

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As I spiralled my way around the perimeter of Wrocław Stadium, these BMWs just kept appearing. I really was a kid in a candy shop, and yet never did I feel like I’d overdosed on them. I think the event was so large and so spread out that seeing these BMWs never actually got boring. In fact, if I could, I’d happily go for another lap now. Who knows what other rare goods I could have spotted. An AC Schnitzer kit here, Racing Dynamics lip here, it goes on and on…

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Don’t worry, this is by no means an end to our Ultrace 2023 coverage, or BMWs for that matter. Like last time, let me leave you with a couple more clues of what’s to come…

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Yeah, I wouldn’t go anywhere if I were you!

Michał Fidowicz
Instagram: candyshowroom

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1

It's quite comical, on the American side of the Atlantic, parts for BMW's and German cars in general are quite expensive compared to other brands, so it's awesome that on their home continent stuff is cheap.

Author2
Michał Fidowicz

The grass is always greener, isn't it?

3

Woods:

You know what's REALLY comical? My neighbor with his Hemi Charger thinking he can beat my other neighbor who has an M8 Competition! Power to weight. All-wheel drive 617hp. If it ain't German don't talk to me!

4

Anybody who's ever watched those Nürburgring crash compilations knows BMWs are just popular, period. Judging by their behavior on the track, they are best left hard-parked somewhere. ;-)

Author5
Michał Fidowicz

Haha, I can't lie, I've spent a lot of time binge watching those videos. Bizarre how inspiring they can be to get stuck into another BMW project.

6

nivk

7

I am making a fair pay from home $3400-$4700/week, which is shocking, under a year back I was jobless in a horrendous economy. I offer thanks toward God reliably I was regarded with these bearings and now it's my commitment to give preemptive grace and offer it with Everyone....

8

I am making a fair pay from home $3400-$4700/week, which is shocking, under a year back I was jobless in a horrendous economy. I offer thanks toward God reliably I was regarded with these bearings and now it's my commitment to give preemptive grace and offer it with Everyone...tinyurl.com/2u2mew2v

9

Love BMW's.....so many cool shapes from the 80's and 90's! Great photo's and coverage of all the different varieties! I do hate to say this as I'm a big time wheel geek, but I think I might be getting sick of seeing everything on multi-piece wheels. It would be nice to see some cars on some period monoblocks for a change, as odd as that sounds.

Author10
Michał Fidowicz

Personally I'm a huge fan of single piece sporty wheels, and whilst they're definitely still super common it did seem that most BMWs here were on splits.

I guess it's just the nature of Ultrace though. It's the height of car modification here, and splits then to do hand in hand with that.

Check our my recent drift gallery if you'd like to see some more one piece wheels though!

11

This years Ultrace was my first time abroad with the sole purpose of attending a car show and it really is something I should`we done many years ago. Being able to relive the memories of walking around Tarczyński arena through the articles on Speedhunters is really something else.
Ps: if you don't like to walk in a sea of people, either go there before they officialy open or late on the afternoon;)

Author12
Michał Fidowicz

Hey Anders, hope you had a good time at Ultrace like I did!

I managed to hang about on Sunday evening after the event and it was absolutely amazing as well, so you're right there

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