A taste of Europe in South Carolina

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The recent Euro Auto Festival held on the grounds of the architecturally-stunning BMW Zentrum museum situated next to the BMW Manufacturing plant near Greenville, South Carolina, was the 18th annual edition of a car show that takes a different approach. It doesn't celebrate only a particular marque, nor allow only cars of a certain age or era to enter. The Euro was established to promote appreciation of all European cars of any age, whether antique, classic, vintage, or sports car, a concept that probably isn't unique but which certainly is unusual in the US.

The free to the public car show on Saturday, October 19, was limited to 400 cars and Ferrari was the featured marque, with a reported 54 of the cars in attendance carrying the Prancing Horse on their flanks. Experienced showgoers couldn't recall a larger gathering of the famed Italian marque outside of Ferrari-only events.

The Euro tends to attract cars not often seen at other events, such as military vehicles (both with wheels and without!), a one-off Rolls-Royce Phantom V limousine, a rare custom-bodied VW Rometsch, even an oily-rag VW transporter. And of course, there's always a wide selection of BMWs, Porsches, Alfa Romeos, MGs, Triumphs, Jaguars, etc. 

Even though the weather was barely cooperative, with occasional light drizzle and cold and overcast all day, attendance didn't seen to suffer in either entrant and spectator category and the moisture thankfully wasn't at a level that muddied the field.

Much appreciation to BMW for strongly supporting the Euro Auto Festival since its inception. The wonderful BMW Zentrum museum is testament to the fact that the company respects its own history and its continued patronage of this event shows that respect also applies to a broader automotive context.
         

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