Freshest From The Oven

The automotive passion is something that transcends cultural borders - and in a tight continent with close borders like Europe, it won’t take long for you to meet people of different cultures that share the same automotive passion.

Early in September I made my way to Leuven, Belgium for the event called Freshest by XTRFRESH (pronounced “Extra Fresh”) - a stance event that gathered a nice group of cars from Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and even a few from the UK. It’s multicultural - much like the European continent. 

It’s refreshing to see how differently they do it across the borders - even though Belgium is right next door to Germany. I’ve spent a lot of time in the German car scene and have seen the same builds multiple times at different events, so Freshest was a chance to take a look at the Belgian and Dutch side of the scene.

Some things do remain familiar - German brands still dominate the scene.

But variety always makes a car show great - and the Japanese car scene of Freshest didn’t disappoint.

Among my favorites is this 1st generation Honda Civic 3-door - you don’t see these on the road any more these days, so finding one that’s still well loved and modified with the right parts like the SSR Formula Mesh wheels is just awesome. Not to mention it has a Playboy magazine with a Civic ad right when it was released in 1973 - that’s dedication.

This F22 2-series blends in the Euro scene with a very JDM set of mods - with a full carbon front end and WORK VS KF wheels, I think this is one of the coolest BMWs at the show.

Setting aside the cool cars, Freshest showcased the multicultural side of continental Europe, becoming a melting pot of cultures united by a shared passion for cars. Whether intentional or not, it was a great opportunity to experience the scene beyond the borders and meet new people and see new cars.