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The most memorable cars at the Petersen Automotive Museum’s Euro Cruise-In were not simply the fastest or most expensive. The September 27, 2026 gathering mixed familiar performance icons with tiny city cars, rally specials, coachbuilt grand tourers and rarely seen family sedans. AutoWeek’s photo selection highlights a Porsche 356, Renault 5 Turbo, Lancia Flaminia, BMW 2002, Volvo P1800 ES, Peugeot 405 Mi16, BMW Isetta 300 and many more.
This is a curated photo feature, not an official contest or a measured comparison. “Best” and “most fun” here mean the cars that created the strongest visual, historical or emotional moments in the gallery.
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What the Euro Cruise-In was—and what “best” means here
The Petersen Automotive Museum’s OKTOBERFEST Euro Cruise-In took place Sunday, September 27, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to noon in Los Angeles. The museum opened the event to all European makes, with room for vintage classics, rally legends, modern performance cars and customs. That broad remit explains why a mid-engine homologation special could sit near a microcar, a shooting brake and a hand-built British roadster.
AutoWeek’s September 28 photo feature presents selected cars rather than a complete entry list. It does not report attendance, lap times, judging criteria or independently verified awards. Several identifications and opinions are explicitly qualified in the captions, so those qualifications matter when interpreting the gallery.
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The gallery at a glance
| Car | Era or role | Why it stood out | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Porsche 356 | Classic sports car | Bruce Meyer’s example has a removable hardtop | Selection detail; Meyer joked about choosing the car closest to the door |
| Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 | Manual sport sedan | Rare high-performance four-door with a stick shift | Manual transmission identified in the caption |
| Renault 5 Turbo | Rally-derived special | Circa-1981 mid-engine version of the Renault 5 | Described as the rally variant |
| Morgan 4/4 “Skimpy” | British sports car custom | Stripped-down pre-war racing-car theme | Modified car, not a factory trim |
| Lancia Flaminia | 1957–1960 flagship | Front engine behind the axle and rear transaxle | Body styles and coachbuilders varied |
| BMW 2002 | Compact sports sedan | Long-term owner Bob Merlis calls it his best real-world car | Personal evaluation, not a test result |
| Volvo P1800 ES | Shooting brake | Merlis calls it the “Greatest shooting brake in history” | Attributed opinion |
| Peugeot 405 Mi16 | Performance family car | Pininfarina design with sleeper appeal | Pictured car is believed to be a 1990 model |
| BMW Isetta 300 | Microcar | Unusual front-entry body and reported People’s Choice win | Merlis was told it won; the result is not independently verified |
Sports cars and performance machines
Porsche 356: a hardtop with a personal story
The Porsche 356 supplies the classic-sports-car anchor. Bruce Meyer’s car is fitted with a removable hardtop, a feature that changes the car’s silhouette and gives its owner a practical way to switch between open-air and enclosed driving. Meyer’s explanation for buying this particular example is deliberately unscientific: “It was the one closest to the door.” The line is a reminder that ownership decisions at enthusiast events are often personal and playful rather than a ranking of specifications.
Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16: the manual sport sedan
The 190E 2.3-16 shown in the feature is a manual-transmission car, according to Bob Merlis’s caption. That detail is central to its appeal. The model combines a compact Mercedes sedan body with a performance-focused drivetrain and chassis, and the three-pedal configuration makes the car especially engaging to enthusiasts who value driver involvement. The gallery does not provide acceleration figures or a condition assessment, so its significance here is character, not a measured victory over the other cars.
Renault 5 Turbo: a rally car hiding in plain sight
The circa-1981 Renault 5 Turbo is one of the event’s most technically dramatic entries. Unlike the ordinary front-engine Renault 5, this rally-derived variant places its engine behind the occupants in a mid-engine layout. Wide bodywork and competition intent turn a small hatchback shape into something closer to a purpose-built special. Its presence also fulfills the museum’s promise to welcome rally legends, even though the feature does not identify a particular competition history for this car.
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Modern and high-performance bookends
The gallery reaches into newer performance territory with a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, Mercedes-AMG GT S and Porsche GT3 RS 4.0. These cars provide a visual counterpoint to the small-displacement classics: long, low grand-tourer proportions in the SLR, a contemporary front-engine performance coupe in the AMG and an especially focused track-oriented 911 in the GT3 RS. Because this is a photo selection, it does not compare their power, lap times or prices.
Unusual shapes that made the event fun
BMW Isetta 300: the conversation starter
The BMW Isetta 300 is almost impossible to confuse with anything else in the parking area. Its tiny cabin and front-opening door make it a rolling piece of industrial design rather than a conventional small car. Merlis writes that he was told this Isetta won People’s Choice. That wording should be preserved: the feature relays what he was told, but does not independently document the vote or publish a tally.
Fiat 500 Giardiniera: the little estate
The Fiat 500 Giardiniera adds a practical twist to the familiar 500 formula. Its extended, estate-like body makes the city car useful for carrying more than the standard two-door shape while retaining the visual charm that draws people to classic Italian compacts. At a gathering dominated by sports-car expectations, the Giardiniera demonstrates that utility and personality can be equally photogenic.
Morgan 4/4 “Skimpy”: a custom built around an idea
The Morgan 4/4 in the feature wears a “Skimpy” theme intended to evoke a stripped-down pre-war British racing car. The appeal is not a factory specification but the coherence of the transformation: reduced visual clutter, exposed sporting cues and a deliberately lightweight appearance. It shows how European-car culture rewards thoughtful interpretation as much as originality.
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Opel GT and other left-field choices
An Opel GT appears among the less familiar selections. Alongside the Isetta, Peugeot 405 Mi16, Renault 5 Turbo and Fiat Giardiniera, it broadens the event beyond the marques most commonly associated with collector-car coverage. The feature does not provide additional specifications for the Opel, so its role is best understood as evidence of the event’s breadth rather than as a model-by-model evaluation.
Grand tourers, coachbuilt cars and clever engineering
Lancia Flaminia: flagship engineering in a restrained shape
The Lancia Flaminia was Lancia’s flagship from 1957 to 1960. Its layout is unusually sophisticated: the engine sits aft of the front axle, while the rear transaxle is positioned forward of the rear axle. Moving mass toward the center of the car was intended to improve balance, and the arrangement gives the Flaminia a technical story to match its elegant appearance.
Flaminia buyers could encounter sedan, coupé and convertible forms, including bodies created by Pininfarina, Touring and Zagato. That range means two cars carrying the same model name can look substantially different. The Petersen example therefore represents both Lancia’s engineering ambition and the era’s coachbuilt variety.
Mercedes-Benz W113 “Pagoda”
The Mercedes-Benz W113, widely known as the “Pagoda,” was produced from 1963 through 1973. Its concave hardtop profile gives the car its nickname and makes it instantly recognizable in a crowded display. The feature uses the production span and nickname as identification; it does not claim that this particular car has a special provenance or specification.
Renault Caravelle, Floride and the Citroën display
A Renault Caravelle occupies the foreground of one scene. Merlis notes that the model was called Floride in Europe, a useful distinction for readers who may know the two names but not realize they refer to the same basic car. Behind it are a Deux Chevaux and a Citroën ID, creating a compact snapshot of postwar French design.
The caption also contrasts these cars with the U.S.-market Citroën SM. That version lacks the glass-enclosed headlights and swiveling inner headlight described in the image discussion. The detail illustrates how market regulations and equipment changes can make an exported European car visibly different from its home-market counterpart.
Everyday cars that enthusiasts remember
BMW 2002: an owner’s real-world benchmark
Bob Merlis says he owned his BMW 2002 for 21 years from new and describes it as a “Brilliant car, actually the best I’ve ever owned in real-world terms.” That is a powerful endorsement because it comes from extended ownership rather than a specification sheet. It remains Merlis’s personal assessment, not a universal ranking established by testing. The 2002’s appeal in this context is its combination of compact dimensions, simple shape and usable performance.
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BMW 1800 Neue Klasse: fresh from Sweden
The 1965 BMW 1800 Neue Klasse is notable for its condition and recent journey. The car had been bought from Sweden and still wore shipping stickers when photographed. Those stickers turn an otherwise understated sedan into a document of arrival, preserving evidence of how it reached the event rather than presenting it as an anonymous restored object.
Volvo P1800 ES: the shooting-brake argument
Merlis calls the Volvo P1800 ES the “Greatest shooting brake in history.” The ES’s long roof and glass-heavy rear section give it a distinctive blend of sports-car styling and estate-car practicality. The superlative belongs to Merlis; the feature does not present a survey or comparative test proving that it is objectively the greatest.
Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV: style with a date caveat
The Alfa Romeo 2000 GTVs are identified as Bertone-designed coupes. One caption gives the year as an “Educated guess, 1973.” That uncertainty should remain attached to the car: the design identification is clear, but the exact model year is not confirmed in the feature.
Peugeot 405 Mi16: the overlooked performance sedan
The Peugeot 405 Mi16 represents the kind of car that makes a broad European cruise-in rewarding. It is a Pininfarina design with a sporting specification, yet it is less familiar to many collectors than the Porsche and Mercedes entries nearby. The photographed car is believed to be a 1990 model, not definitively identified as one, so 1990 should be treated as an informed caption estimate rather than a verified build year.
Citroën Traction Avant and the history carried by an owner
Two Citroën Traction Avants add historical depth. The white car belongs to Chuck and Tina of Autobooks Aerobooks in Burbank. The black car came from Australia, is right-hand drive and was built in Slough. Those details matter because they distinguish ownership and production history, not just paint color. A right-hand-drive Traction Avant built in Britain embodies the way Citroën’s design circulated through different markets and factories.
How the cars compare without pretending to rank them
Era is the clearest dividing line. The Flaminia, Traction Avant, Porsche 356, Pagoda and Renault Caravelle represent postwar European design at its most formal and expressive. The BMW 1800, BMW 2002 and Peugeot 405 Mi16 show how the everyday sedan became an enthusiast object. The Renault 5 Turbo represents competition-bred transformation, while the SLR McLaren, AMG GT S and GT3 RS 4.0 extend the display into modern performance.
Vehicle role creates another useful contrast. The 190E 2.3-16 and 2002 are usable sedans; the Volvo P1800 ES and Fiat Giardiniera make a case for stylish carrying capacity; the Isetta is a purpose-built urban microcar; and the Morgan is a custom interpretation of an open sports car. This is a comparison of visible purpose and design, not reliability, speed or value.
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Finally, familiarity changes the way each car lands with visitors. A Porsche 356 or Mercedes Pagoda is instantly legible to many enthusiasts. An Opel GT, Peugeot 405 Mi16, Isetta 300 or 1965 BMW 1800 rewards the person who stops to ask what it is. The event’s pleasure came from moving between those two kinds of recognition.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why the mix mattered more than a ranking
The strongest pattern in the gallery is variety. A visitor could move from a mid-engine rally special to a front-entry microcar, then from a coachbuilt flagship to a practical estate and a modest sedan praised by its long-term owner. Familiarity also varies sharply: the SLR McLaren and Porsche GT3 RS 4.0 draw attention through status and performance, while the Isetta 300, Opel GT, Peugeot 405 Mi16 and Fiat 500 Giardiniera reward curiosity.
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Event details for anyone planning a future visit
The 2026 event was held at the Petersen Automotive Museum, 6060 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90036. The museum listing described member benefits that included a discount on display-vehicle tickets, early museum access beginning at 9:00 a.m., a retail discount and a complimentary poster.
Those benefits, ticket terms and future event availability can change. Anyone planning to attend a later Euro Cruise-In should verify the live museum listing for the date, entry requirements and current member benefits rather than relying on the 2026 details.
Bottom line
The Petersen Euro Cruise-In’s most enjoyable cars were the ones that expanded the idea of what a European enthusiast car can be: Bruce Meyer’s hardtop Porsche 356, the manual Mercedes 190E 2.3-16, the mid-engine Renault 5 Turbo, the “Skimpy” Morgan, the technically clever Lancia Flaminia, the owner-loved BMW 2002, the Volvo P1800 ES shooting brake, the uncertain-year Peugeot 405 Mi16 and the tiny BMW Isetta 300. Together with the Citroëns, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Opel, Mercedes and Porsche entries, they made the event a celebration of difference rather than a contest with a single measurable champion.
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When was the Petersen Euro Cruise-In held?
The Petersen Automotive Museum’s OKTOBERFEST Euro Cruise-In took place Sunday, September 27, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to noon in Los Angeles.
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What kinds of cars were eligible?
The museum listed the event as open to all European makes, including vintage classics, rally legends, modern performance cars and customs.
Did the BMW Isetta 300 officially win People’s Choice?
AutoWeek’s caption says Bob Merlis was told the Isetta won People’s Choice. The feature does not independently verify the result or provide a vote total.
Is the Peugeot 405 Mi16 definitely a 1990 model?
No. The caption says the pictured car is believed to be a 1990 model, so the year remains uncertain.
Which BMW 2002 was highlighted?
Bob Merlis’s BMW 2002 was highlighted, and he said he had owned it for 21 years from new. He called it the best car he had owned in real-world terms, an attributed personal opinion rather than a formal ranking.
Where was the event held?
The event was held at the Petersen Automotive Museum, 6060 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90036. Future dates, tickets and member benefits should be checked on the museum’s current listing.
The Bottom Line
The Euro Cruise-In stood out because it treated European-car enthusiasm as a broad conversation: rally specials, coachbuilt flagships, practical estates, microcars, overlooked sedans and modern exotics all belonged in the same frame. The memorable choices are compelling for their stories and contrasts, not because the photo feature establishes a single objective winner.
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