A Little Dirt Never Hurts: HEIZR Club’s Dusty Rides 2024

Classic sports cars and dirt often don’t mix. As these cars age, they become less visible on the road, only appearing during the best weather and on special occasions. But for those who don’t mind getting their pristine and shiny old-timers a bit dirty, HEIZR Club’s Dusty Rides is an event that offers something special.

HEIZR Club is about celebrating collectible classics and their next generation of owners. They host events around Stuttgart, Germany with the coolest concepts, and connect like-minded people.

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For summer 2024, Felix Bauermeister and the HEIZR Club team hosted their second Dusty Rides event at a quarry outside Stuttgart. As they say, a little dirt never hurts.

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My journey to Dusty Rides was part of a weekend-long road trip. I bravely committed to an extra 300 kilometers of driving to Stuttgart on top of the 900km round trip for Tief im Wald in Oberhof, Thuringia. But the added stop was worth the extra driving.

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Moreover, I was stoked that my Daihatsu Copen could join in the festivities attendants at Dusty Rides. As HEIZR Club is focused on the older stuff, most car entry tickets are for classics over 25 years old. However, limited modern car tickets are available, and I managed to grab one before they sold out.

Despite my Copen being the only Daihatsu at the event, and surrounded by many iconic German classics and expensive supercars, I didn’t feel unwelcome. I even overheard one of the staff saying ‘Der ist geil’ (translation: ‘That thing is cool’) as I was leaving in the evening. That made my day even better.

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If there’s a way to describe the day at Dusty Rides, it’s magical. The thing I’ve noticed about the German car culture is that people love to host events at unconventional locations. Even so, HEIZR Club has managed to stand out. The quarry venue provides a unique backdrop and interesting frames. All cars are arranged so that there are amazing spots everywhere.

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Most cars arrived at the event clean, but by the end of the day, they were covered in a thin layer of dust. This brand-new Porsche 718 Spyder RS became especially dusty as it was parked in a high-traffic area.

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Meanwhile, this Porsche 911 Dakar came pre-covered in mud.

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Seeing old Porsches and Lancia Deltas in this setting feels natural due to their rallying heritage. For some cars like this Mk1 Lotus Exige, however, it felt rather dissonant. But the abnormal sight of track-focused machinery on dirt roads just made the event even cooler.

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Of course, the Porsche showing was strong – this is a German classic car event after all. There were 911s for days in all flavors.

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I spent some of my downtime last winter familiarizing myself with small nuances of air-cooled 911s, and learning how to distinguish their specific visual differences. During Dusty Rides, I saw enough old 911s to be able to spot a few of these small details. The easiest of them all would be with this Viper Green long-hood 911.

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Notice that there’s an extra flap behind the right door. It is not for petrol; that flap is at the front-left fender on all air-cooled 911s. This oil flap was added for the 1972 model year and very late 1971 built cars because the oil reservoir for the dry sump system was moved from behind the right rear wheel to in front of the right rear wheel to improve weight distribution.

However, due to confusion among owners and petrol station workers who inserted fuel into the oil flap, Porsche ultimately moved the reservoir back to its original position in 1973, hence why the 1972 Ölklappe 911 became the easiest single-year distinction of air-cooled 911s. It was not until the 964 that Porsche moved the oil reservoir again. This time it was positioned in front of the right rear wheel, with the oil fill cap remaining under the rear bonnet to eliminate any confusion.

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Spotting the differences between original cars is something I enjoy, but a bigger pleasure is seeing what people do with the air-cooled 911 platform. Given the motorsports history and sheer number of 911s produced, there are multiple ways to modify them. This particular 911 is something special. I recognized it as a 1973 Carrera RS from a distance, but as I looked closer, I noticed some differences – the biggest one being the extra wide fenders reminiscent of the RSR race car.

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Later that day I had a conversation with the owner who told me the story behind the car – a later 1980s G-Body 911 that’s been backdated into the spec of a 1973 Carrera 2.8 RSR race car. No detail was left out; even the G-Body dashboard was swapped to an original 911 one, noted by the lack of air conditioning vents. Visually, I couldn’t notice any difference from regular early 1970s long-hood, pre-facelift cars.

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The engine even came from an original 2.8 RSR race car, elevating the build past visual modifications.

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All the Porsche 356s were gathered in one corner, making a nice group.

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The transaxle Porsches’ presence was also noticeable. One of the standouts was this 944 in my favorite Porsche shade, Rubystone. Today, Rubystone is a popular shade for high-end Porsches with the paint-to-sample option, but I have a high appreciation for those who chose this bold color back in the 1990s when it was just a regular hue.

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The coolest style of Porsche? For me, it’s the rally look.

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HEIZR Club’s events have gained a lot of support from OEMs, including Porsche. For Dusty Rides, the Porsche Museum brings out the original Rothmans Porsche 959 Paris-Dakar rally car, originally driven by Jacky Ickx. What a treat.

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It’s one thing to get close to such a legendary car like the 959, but to have it in this dusty setting is something else. This kind of terrain is where the 959 belongs.

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At the other corner stood BMW with its X5 X-Raid – which also competed in the Paris-Dakar Rally – and an E30 M3 Group A rally car.

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And how about this Group B Audi Ur-quattro.

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At some point, they took the rally cars out for a spin, which sadly I missed. The Audi looked so good clean, but being the pioneering four-wheel drive rally car, it doesn’t hurt to get it dirty. And it looks way better with all that dust on the iconic livery.

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The Japanese presence at Dusty Rides is small but intriguing. When else can you see a Euro-spec MkIV Toyota Supra Turbo that hasn’t been modified?

But the most oddball of them all was this mid-to-late-’80s Mitsubishi Cordia Turbo.

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Later during the day, a pair of JDM JZX100 Toyotas finally pulled up to the scene, fully committed to the drifter look. I especially love the Work VS-KFs on the black Chaser.

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The big SUVs were positioned at the top of a hill. A few decided to park on some rocks at an angle, showing their capabilities like this pair of Land Cruisers.

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I was delighted to see another Euro-spec kei car at the event – this second-generation Suzuki Jimny among Cayennes and G-Wagens.

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The first-generation Fiat Panda is another small car well-represented at Dusty Rides. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be this pickup Panda 750 with flower pots hanging on its side. That is just the coolest spec to have.

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The majority of these classic cars are driven to the event. But I can forgive this blue long-hood 911 for showing up on a vintage Mercedes-Benz short-bonnet truck.

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Dusty Rides is truly a unique event for the classic car scene in Germany. While it’s a laid-back affair, what HEIZR Club does isn’t run-of-the-mill. I look forward to what they have in the works next, even if I must drive for hours to be there.

Steve Edward
Instagram: stevedwrd

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13 comments

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1

Awwww man my friends discouraged me from going because the weathercast said there would be heavy rain with risk of flooding (stuttgart/böblingen is known for that)
I even had Tickets
My car could've been in here
It's over

Author2

I had the same worry about the weather forecast. But as the day got closer, the prediction became sunnier and sunnier. There were dark clouds during the event but it didn't hit the area with rain.

Maybe next time man! This surely won't be my last time on HEIZR Club's event.

3

Surely! No matter the weather, you won't catch me miss the next Event of theirs <3 See ya

4

Cool cars! Cool place!!

5

What a location and presentation! What a great turnout of some iconic vehicles! Would have been sweet to see in person!!

6

I like them dirty, thanks for the coverage

7

Something about that statement doesn’t surprise me.

8

That RSR replica and the Ickx 959 are worth the price of admission alone.

9

I am a German car guy for life! And a Porsche fanatic for life! But having a car show at a quarry with all that dust/dirt is disturbing!!! Dust will get in filters, suspension, door jams, panels, trunk, engine compartment. All on your brakes. Somenof those Porsches are classics. If I owned one, it wouldn't be mine. Seems crazy!!! My restored/tuned MKIII Jetta 5speed is only driven when the weather is good 3 days in a row. I spent almost $20,000 restoring and tuning it. These cars are worth more than mine!! Just stupid to me. Love the cars though.

10

Don't think you've ever mentioned the Jetta before...

11

This looks like it would've been such a fun car meet to attend

12
Vincent Conker Auger

Hey Steve, absolutely stunning work on this one. The setting is amazing but the views you chose and how you framed them is amazing. Many great subjects to choose from clearly but for me, the Lancia Deltas, the E30 groupe A, the Audi Group B, the yellow 993 Carrera RS, the silver Esprit and the Mk1 Exige are top tier stuff for me.

Keep up the great coverage.

Author13

Really appreciate the comment and I'm glad you enjoyed the story!

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