Air-cooled or water-cooled. Scraping and mass amounts of negative camber. Air suspensions quietly hissing as they move up and down. Shiny wheels and colorful wraps dot the landscape. Vendor tents and leashes stand out all around.

Euros, Euros, Euros… Dogs. And bikes.

Welcome to Euro Tripper 4.

Southwest Florida’s biggest gathering of German cars, was just that… big. It was visibly clear that word got out about this show based in the small town of Fort Myers, Florida. There were many more cars present than last year, despite this year’s cold and stormy weather. A little water won’t stop these Euro car enthusiasts.

Euro Tripper is a charitable, non-profit event that brings car enthusiasts together. ET4 was dedicated to the U.K. this year with Euro Tripper’s new “Tour Series,” paying homage to the very best regional Dub scenes in Europe:

“We feel like these regions offer the very best events, cars, enthusiasts and vendors as well. If you ever feel like seeing truly complete and detailed vehicles, take a trip to Europe and check out an event.  That is exactly what we have been doing, and we were so inspired, we wanted to both pay tribute, but also try to bring some of that to our event” –ET.

As for the charity aspect this year, Brooke’s Legacy Animal Rescue was present, bringing along a few adorably adoptable tail waggers and accepting generous donations. Being a pet-friendly event, dogs dotted the landscape managing to get their mugs in plenty of shots.

It seems that bicycles and Euro cars tend to go hand in hand. Attempting to cater to said bike enthusiasts, a bike display was set up, in addition to the BMX Trickstars Display Team performing just beyond the main show field throughout the day.

It was tightly packed in this year, making it a bit difficult to move around the crowds of dogs and people, but this just gives you an idea of the masses that attended. The few gems on the ends of rows and vendor vehicles were well-deserving of their placement on the show field. A few mentionable included a beautiful 1986 Mercedes-Benz 190E Cosworth Edition, a couple Porsches, a 8-series Bimmer, an Alpina Wagon, and even a wide-body Liberty Walk Lamborghini.

Perhaps the most welcome vendor to the event this year was Volkswagen. Yes, Corporate Volkswagen. VW USA. The big guns. They brought with them a pretty impressive display of a one-of-a-kind Japan-built Rauh-Welt Beetle (which was unveiled by VW rally driver Tanner Foust at the 2014 SEMA show), a one-owner 1981 Type 1 Scirocco, and the 10 millionth produced 1964 Type 1 Beetle. Oh, and free t-shirts. Because who doesn’t love a free t-shirt?

Overall, despite the bad weather and inability to use the brand new stage meant for show winners to drive across, Euro Tripper 4 was a success! We’re excited to see what they have in store for us next with their European Tour Series and welcome the breath of fresh air that they’ve brought into the SWFL car scene.