Saturday, October 17th dawned cold and rainy in Millville, New Jersey. A middle finger from mother nature to the organizers and volunteers at the first Annual Bavarian Heritage Invitational. These were not ideal conditions for an outdoor car event, but the volunteers’s smiling faces and cheery attitude, the special cars flowing through the gates, and brightening skies later in the morning made for a tremendous success.
Words: Larry Engel, North Atlantic Region vice president, BMW CCA
Photos: Jerry Jerry Chapusette
The event was the brainchild of Delaware Valley Chapter President Chris Holliday, who expended a tremendous amount of effort envisioning and planning a unique event: a combination social gathering, concours, and car show. Attendees were encouraged to pick their level of participation. There was a judged concours field and a non-judged display field, all laid out behind the clubhouse at New Jersey Motorsports Park. NJMP also promoted the event, hoping to draw interest from the general community.
Jose Rodriguez’s Warsteiner Tribute. Photo: Jerry Chapusette
Numerous BMW CCA members braved the weather and brought their cars for judging or display. Of special note was the fantastic Warsteiner livery E30 M3 of Jose Rodriguez. He converted a tired old E30 into an exact replica. He even took measurements and cut the decals himself.
On the other end of the spectrum, Kevin Broughton brought his gorgeous G99 M5 Touring. The exterior in Individual Macadamia is reminiscent of station wagons that members of a certain age remember from their childhood, but the Kyalami Orange and Black interior hits like a wakeup call to remind folks that this isn’t their mother’s station wagon. With a total of 717 horsepower and plug-in hybrid technology that allows over 30 miles of electric-only range, this car is truly mind-bending. BMW North America also loaned another G99 M5 Touring for the event wearing Stone Grey Individual paint. Both cars drew a lot of attention, and there was active discussion of which one had a better throwback vibe.
One of the event’s sponsors, Phil Manaresi from Euro Classic Revival in West Creek, NJ brought two E39 wagons. In one of them he has replaced the original powertrain with a S54 and six-speed manual from an E46 M3, an interesting swap and a real Alpine White sleeper. Phil was also a sponsor to let people know he’d gladly build one (or do other restorations) for them, too. The People’s Choice winner was the Isle of Man Green M8 owned by Mark Melnychenko. There were lots of cars that could have won that award, and we’re sure many owners had to keep cleaning drool off their babies as spectators made their way through the sea of eye candy.
The Delaware Valley and New Jersey Chapters would like to thank their sponsors for supporting this wonderful event. BMW of Turnersville brought three cars and was the dealer sponsor. Total Energies served as Sponsor Cup Sponsor, Woodstown Central Railroad was T-Shirt Sponsor, Bavarian Specialties was Banner Sponsor. Other sponsors included Continental Tire, M Car Covers, Euro Classic Revival, and AutoBiography App.
Here’s a list of the winners. Congratulations to all of them.
Class 2 Original: 1974 BMW 2002tii Jay Miller
Class 2 modified:1988 BMW M3 Jose Rodriguez
Class 3 Original: 2001 BMW 330Bruce Bubeck
Class 3 Modified: 2000 BMW 528 Philip Manaresi
Class 4 Original: 2020 BMW M2 – Justin Eichhorn
Class 4 Modified: 2013 M3 – Daniel Himds
Best owner under 30: Evan Miller Z3 M Coupe
Winner Sponsor’s Choice: 1973 BMW 2002tii – Michael OHare
Best Story: 1974 BMW 3.0CS – Ed Podgorski
People’s Choice: 2023 BMW M8 – Mark Melnychenko
