The story of xBhp has been one of motorcycling. But perhaps an even more important part of our foundation has been the community. Throughout the years, we have done our part in uniting like-minded motorcyclists around the country, which led to the creation of a community that we can be proud of. And now, as we foray into the world of four wheels, community still remains at our core. As a result, here’s the story of our very first sports car meet! 

The story of xBhp started in 2002. We love motorcycles and we knew that a lot of other people did as well. So in a bid to gather those fellow enthusiasts, xBhp organised its first motorcycle meet in Delhi in 2002. It was an occasion that marked the beginning of what xBhp was to become in the years to follow and what it is today. And now, we can only hope that this meetup could be the start of something similar… just on four wheels. 

We have always been about motorcycles, but we were never one of the hardened puritan bunch that despised cars. We have always been fond of cars, and some iconic ones have been a part of some of our biggest rides. Then, after having driven a bunch of performance cars around the world, the xBhp Garage was blessed with a MINI Cooper S. A fantastic car in its own right, we needed something more… that came in the form of the BMW M340i, which catalysed this first sports car meetup of ours. 

Now, coming to the meetup itself… we started from Gurgaon and drove to a McDonald’s 100 km away, driving on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway. This expressway is one of the best in our country, and when it is completed in 2027, it will enable one to drive from Gurgaon to Mumbai in less than 13 hours, which is almost unprecedented. And yeah, we specifically said drive because motorcycles are not allowed on this expressway… a crying shame, really. 

The conditions were rainy, and the weather was nice and cool, a perfect day for a spirited drive. The lineup consisted of some really cool cars. We had a Porsche Taycan, a Škoda RS, a Mustang GT and four BMW M340is, including our own. In this pretty illustrious group, the presence of four M340is speaks volumes about the car’s capabilities and how accessible it has made sub-5-second 0-100 spurts! 

The Porsche Taycan belonged to Dr Manu Bora. He is a connoisseur of four wheels but, like us, loves his motorcycles as well. He currently owns a BMW 1200 GS. The Mustang GT belonged to Raja Jain, another sports car enthusiast who also happens to have owned an R1 and a Hayabusa in the past. Then we had Ujjwal and his friends with their M340is and a very suave Škoda RS.

After a fantastic drive of a hundred kays or so one way, we reached our destination. The food complex we went to was flanked by green rolling hills. It was a strange sensation considering such a vista was an hour and a half away from Delhi. The overcast conditions and on/off rain made the hills look even more majestic than usual. 

After time spent discussing cars, taking pictures, and having food, it was time for us to head back and conclude our first sports car meetup. We are hopeful that this is going to become more frequent and help us lay the foundation for maybe… India’s only lifestyle driving platform? Who knows. For now, we are just going to enjoy our M340i and the company of other people who feel the same way about cars as we do. 

Drive safe and always have your seatbelt on…