Automotive Nirvana at the Club de Ultrace 2024

July 2, 2024

The word “pilgrimage” has strong religious connotations. It is associated with travel that is consistent with one’s faith or beliefs. A search for the divine. Some argue that the word “pilgrimage” should not be used for non-religious purposes. Year after year, modified car enthusiasts from across Europe – and beyond – take part in a holy journey to Wroclaw, Poland for a weekend of automotive indulgence.

What form of automotive enjoyment?

While Ultrace has been running in one form or another since 2010, 2024 marked the show’s first appearance under the slightly modified “Club de Ultrace” banner, and it was my first time attending. Judging by what follows, Adrian Kapica and his crew have grown over the past 14 years. They could change their name to anything and the event would continue to grow in popularity.

Let me make it clear right from the start: Ultrace is the most impressive car show I have ever been to.

I have never seen a show car with such a consistently high standard before. Even the ‘tamest’ cars ride on immaculate split wheels with fantastic fit and select modifications to stand out from the crowd.

The variety of cars on display was overwhelming and there was something for every taste.

I’m an open-minded car lover – thanks to my time on Speedhunters – but no matter what wild builds I’ve featured over the years, my heart is always in a simple European car on pretty split wheels.

Especially when it’s a big sedan like these black 740s parked next to each other. A BMW, a Volvo, both gangsters.

Or at the other end of the spectrum: I love small sports cars with a long hood and a short rear. This lovely BMW Z4 M Coupé on AC Schnitzer Type 3 Racing rims was very cool, but directly opposite was a Mercedes-Benz SL “Pagoda” on BBS RS rims that I had a hard time tearing myself away from.

Are JDM cars more your thing? How about this R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R on Work Meister S1 rims or one of the seemingly thousands of Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions on display? Both cars won a coveted “Top 16” award.

Although JDM cars compete, drifting at Ultrace provides plenty of excitement for spectators over the weekend.

The event was organized by a mysterious man called “Fiji” and his team at Next Level Drift. The main parking lot is transformed into a drift track for the event. The drivers pack as much side-drift action as they can fit into the show weekend, leaving the Tarczynski Stadium partially shrouded in a cloud of smoke.

The typical Ultrace drift setup looks like this: JDM rims (ideally three-piece), a BN sport kit (or similar) and a cool paint job for maximum style points when drifting.

The drift track is quite small and the heavily cambered cars don’t always make the smokiest drifts, but if you find a good angle, they make for some great panning shots.

The atmosphere in the drift paddock was phenomenal. People were helping each other, smiling, waving and generally seemed to leave all stress behind.

Wrong Crew were awesome and pulled off some really tight tandem drift moves all weekend. I jumped from car to car with them to get some tracking shots with the team…

…but Jake Crouch’s fast and aggressive runs in his RB26-powered Nissan Silvia were the most exciting. Jake’s purple S15, brought from the UK, was often seen and Becky Evans’ S15 produced some of the fastest runs of the weekend.

I couldn’t stand the 30+°C weather for that long with the heat-soaked drift cars, so a few trips to our friends at CSF and their air-conditioned booth were definitely in order. Ravi Dolwani’s CSF Porsche 911 was on display on a podium, accompanied by Pit+Paddock’s BMW M3 GTS Touring homage on another stop on their European tour.

The American couple were joined by cars from further afield, such as Liberty Walk’s Lamborghini Countach and Ferrari Testarossa, as well as Peaches’ Hyundai Pony, which came to Poland from South Korea.

Speaking of travel, 2024 was the year I finally met my fellow Speedhunters Alen and Vladimir in person. Look out for their spotlights soon.

With such an incredible selection of cars, Ultrace’s status as a show in 2024, and three Speedhunters in attendance, Alen had the idea that we should do something special. Why don’t we use our years of car show experience, our time with the best modified cars in the world, and our taste to select a Speedhunters “Car of the Show”?

After some back and forth via text message between us and the Ultrace crew, the plan was set: We would choose our favorite car of the 2024 show and present an award on stage.

You’ll have to wait for my post for proper information on our champion, but Martin Szombierski’s 1969 Mercedes-Benz W108 was stunning and we all agreed it deserved to be recognized at the event. I can’t wait for you to see this…

Our prize? A piece of billet steel engraved by the incredibly talented Mica Dori, who won a Top 16 award with her own Mercedes 190 E.

Peaches’ Hyundai Pony took first place, edging out Liberty Walk’s Lamborghini Countach in the battle for the Ultrace 2024 crown. All of the top 16 won awards, and it’s safe to say they were all beautiful cars.

However, Ultrace still had one last surprise in store this year. I think the ultimate winner was the guy who proposed to his girlfriend on stage. She said yes!

Why did I start this article with pilgrimages? Because I have never seen a fan base so excited and committed to coming to an event. Ultrace is in a class of its own. I can’t wait to drive my car here too.