The 17th edition of the Creme 21 Youngtimer Rally will be held this year between the city of Essen and Luxembourg from September 12th to 16th. BMW Group Classic is again the main sponsor of the event and will be bringing out truly iconic cars to celebrate the occasion including a BMW M1 and a BMW 3.0 CSL. The BMW backed portion of the rally will include five more models and, for the first time, BMW Motorrad will also roll up to the starting line.

In total there will be 250 participating teams lining up for the 17th edition of the Creme 21 Youngtimer rally and the starting point will be in the grounds of the Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex in Essen. Following a technical inspection of the vehicles in the shunting yard of the former coal mine on Wednesday, September 12th 2018, the tour will get underway there on the following day. As a special tribute to times past, it will end in the evening with a film shown at a drive-in cinema in Essen.

The “Creme 21” rally is named after a range of cosmetic products from the 1970s that came in bright orange pots. The “21” in its name reflects the legal age at the time and was meant to convey the fact that the skin cream was beneficial to old and young alike. By the same token, the Youngtimer rally celebrates the period between 1970 and 1990. This year BMW Group Classic is sending five cars and, for the first time, two motorcycles to the “Creme 21”.

The oldest vehicle is the iconic BMW 3.0 CSL followed closely by the M1 which is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Curios bystanders will also get to see a 1990 BMW 323i alongside a BMW Z3. MINI is also taking part in the Creme 21 rally with one of the last models to roll off the assembly plant in Longbridge, UK in 2000. Artist Nic Nagel has embellished the car’s bodywork with colourful surfer motifs and slogans.

As for the two bikes mentioned earlier, BMW Motorrad will be bringing out a BMW K1 and a BMW R80 G/S. The former turns 30 this year while the second bike was the first multi-cylinder enduro motorcycle BMW Motorrad’s first production model with a single-sided swingarm. The BMW R 80 G/S triggered fresh enthusiasm for enduro sports in the early 1980s. By 1987 more than 33,000 units of the model had been manufactured which makes it one of the iconic models in the brand’s history.