When did you last see 29 racecars, from nimble 1950s track toys to contemporary Le Mans veterans, casually parked in the streets of your local community? Last Tuesday morning, when inhabitants of Munich's upscale Bogenhausen districts left their homes on their ways to the office or the farmer's market, they were greeted by a fleet of bold and colourful racing machines that had assembled in front of the Marks Feinkost delicatessen store and cafe on Kufsteiner Platz. It was the third edition of "Marks & Cars", a cars-and-coffee event organized by the Marks team together with Classic Driver — and this year's racing theme had quickly escalated into a full-blown Rennsport reunion on public grounds.
From Audi, BMW and Bentley to Ionity, Porsche and Rimac, many big players of the automotive world had sent their most iconic racecars to enter the "24 Hours of Bogenhausen" at Marks & Cars. And naturally, Rennmeister had joined the celebration of racing spirits — for once delivering racecars before breakfast, not after dark. Right in front of the cafe, the event curators had lined up five remarkable Porsche endurance legends, starting with a Gulf-liveried Porsche 917 driven by Pedro Rodríguez and Leo Kinnunen at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1970, and a Rothmans Works-Porsche 956 piloted by Jackie Ickx and Jochen Mass at the Nürburgring 1000 KM in 1983.
Jochen Mass had sadly passed away earlier this year. Paying homage to the great racing driver and friend of the brand, Rennmeister had brought a bright orange Jägermeister Racing Porsche 962 that had been raced by Mass in-period. Leaping into contemporary motorsports history, the Porsche Museum had added two amazing modern endurance racecars to the mix — one of the three Porsche 919s that raced to triple victory at Le Mans in 2015 and a Porsche 963 that won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2024.
On the other side of the street, a very different Jägermeister Racing veteran had been parked in front of the cafe's outside tables. Seeming almost fragile in comparison with the Le Mans and IMSA prototypes all around, the nimble 1974 March-BMW F2 had once delivered mind-blowing performance with its 330 hp engine accelerating only 450 kilos of metal. Hans-Joachim Stuck was hailed as the "King of Hockenheim" for his countless wins in the March-BMW F2, before Jochen Mass took over the wheel to win the Eifelrennen in 1977. It's fascinating to see that even decades later, the bright orange Jägermeister Racing cars can still draw a crowd. After all, when can you meet your childhood racing heroes and teenage bedroom poster cars in the middle of Munich on a Tuesday morning? The racing circus of Marks & Cars reached its peak moment when 9-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen and F1 veteran Karl Wendlinger took the audience on a trip back in time to the golden days of motor racing — and surprise visitor Orlando Bloom added an unexpected splash of Hollywood glamour to the mix.
For Rennmeister, the cameo at Marks & Cars was only the beginning: during IAA Mobility, BMW M was celebrating the 40th anniversary of the first BMW M3 with a four-day pop-up event at the M Clubhouse, a studio space near Gärtnerplatz in the heart of the city. Together with other influential contemporary car communities like Hfmstr and JP Performance, Rennmeister had been invited to join the party, host the bar, provide the guests with Jägermeister's ice-cold signature drinks — and bring along a four-wheeled treasure from the Jägermeister Racing collection.
So when Munich's young and flamboyant car crowd started to stream into the backyard studio on Thursday afternoon, they were greeted by the iconic BMW E30 M3 Sport Evolution that was famously raced by Armin Hahne in the 1992 DTM season, proudly carrying the Hubertus stag. During the next days, the M Clubhouse became a meeting point for the BMW M enthusiasts, the Rennmeister community and everyone in need of a dose of automotive magic after visiting the perfectionist stands at the IAA fair.
Despite all challenges the big manufacturers are facing, it's encouraging to see how the next generation is embracing and celebrating authentic car culture all across the city — from racing-infused cars and coffee meets for breakfast to 1990s DTM heros after dark.
Photos: Szymon Adamczyk for Rennmeister
