Our story begins in 1999, in France, with the creation of the website http://www.clube31.net/ by a 17-year-old Frenchman named Philippe Brulé, whose father owned a Series 8. Philippe devoted a great deal of time and energy to gathering information from around the world. In October 2000, he organized the first international gathering dedicated to the Series 8 in Dijon, bringing together 10 vehicles from France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and Sweden. Since then, dozens of gatherings have taken place throughout Europe and the United States. Starting in 2003, Jud Spencer (USA) took over management and hosting of the site until 2008 at the address http://www.clube31.com/. The site expanded over the years to include http://www.clube31.com/and http://www.8er.chfusionnent/ in July 2008 to form http://www.8er.org/, giving rise to an organization dedicated exclusively to the BMW 8 Series. It has become an essential website, reaching 50,000 visits per month and nearly 3,000 registered members worldwide, making it today an international site driven by a true community of enthusiasts with tens of thousands of posts, articles, and technical information collected over more than 15 years of dedication from its members.
In France, Philippe Gegou (who had participated in the 2000 Dijon meet) brought together a group of enthusiasts and organized the 2006 International Meet in Paris, which drew more than 80 Series 8 cars from all over Europe. Since then, we have organized and participated in numerous meets in France and abroad.
Every year, an International Meeting is held in a member country of our Federation. The Netherlands will host the next International Meeting in Amsterdam in June 2016, and France will host the event in 2017.
The BMW Club E31 8er France has been an officially recognized association since 2010. Its purpose is to bring together all French-speaking 8 Series owners. It offers a variety of activities designed to foster a spirit of friendship and collaboration among members, facilitate the exchange of information, and carry out the necessary work to ensure the best possible maintenance of their 8 Series vehicles.
In June 2012, our association was officially recognized by BMW Club Europa thanks to the sponsorship of Bernard Blondeel, a member of the BMW Club de France, under the official name “BMW Club E31 8er France” and later “BMW Club Serie 8 France.” A Facebook page dedicated to the club’s activities was created in 2010, and our website http://www.bmwclubserie8.fr/ went live in January 2015.
Our office is currently represented by:
- Antonin Teyssier (President)
- Philippe Gegou (Vice President)
- Wladimir Scriabine (Treasurer)
- Marc Poupon (Secretary)
- Richard Jeandel (Representative Member)
To date, 100 paying members are registered with our club.