HFMSTRS at Como Car Week – Spätschicht
A PACKED WEEK(END) OF SHEER FUN
Long gone are the days when the end of May at Como was associated “only” with the famous Concorso d’Eleganza at the grandeur Villa d’Este. Since the end of the pandemic, automotive events around the lake have been springing up like mushrooms and offer an incredible variety for all kinds of enthusiasts. Wheels and Weisswürscht, Kimera’s pop-up showroom at Villa Fiori or a private party thrown by Officine Fioravanti definitely made for a worthwhile visit, but there was one more, warming everyone up for the weekend… the Spätschicht by HFMSTRS.
The Hoffmeisters - abbreviated and capitalised to a short, fashionable name - is a community created around BMW in an original, inimitable style. Its three main members known as Jasper Schwering, Daniel "Rasi" Rasenberger and Tobi Krengel – were responsible for countless imaginative meet-ups fostering the car culture… including when a BMW Art Car ended up in Rasi’s garage. But this time they took over Villa Erba’s Padiglione Centrale.
VERY SPECIAL GUESTS FROM BMW
As HFMSTRS are BMW-centred, so was the Spätschicht. But the cars brought across by the brand from Munich were everything but your regular Series 3. How about we start with the re-creation of late Marcello Gandini’s one-off BMW Garmisch? The car fitted into the corridor by the dancehall so seamlessly that to my surprise, it did not shock everyone as much, as one would expect for a long forgotten and then rebuilt prototype. Its captivating story was described here, so if you don’t know how special it is – there’s some catching-up here!
Few steps away stood a seemingly normal car, at times rather popular on the roads – the BMW E53 X5 featured on above cover. Come closer and start inspecting the details and you will slowly start to realise what kind of beast is standing in front of you. And I mean… a beast! Premiered in early 2000 the X5 Le Mans borrowed its powerful engine from the 1999 Le Mans winning V12 LMR. How often do you find such a powertrain in a “regular” chassis? To balance out the engine’s weight this E53 features a carbon-fibre hood with a large opening ensuring optimal radiator airflow. And to top it all off, it was paired with a colour-matching E36 318is, freshly painted by Daniel Nikodem and full of incredibly cool details. Lightweight, baby!
IT'S A PARTY, AFTER ALL!
Yet, and more than any other events, this was a purely people-oriented feast. How else could it be? In a large room decorated with automotive accents, among vintage gas pumps and with BMW steering wheels lying around there was a happy bunch of people connected through their common passion chatting away.
Whether a member of the jury at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, entrant at the very same event, an auctioneer or a HFMSTRS member making a road trip to Como, everyone mingled and had a great time. With all that fun had amongst car-related posters and under the candle lights, it was pretty hard to believe the Como Car Weekend was just getting started!
Text & Photos: Adam Pekala ©
