Sixteen years after Joris died, his BMW is still helping others
A dream car, finished by the people who loved him
Sixteen years ago, Joris died of cancer at just 27. One of his dreams was to take an old car and bring it back to life. He never got the chance. Now his parents have finished the job for him, and turned his 1970 BMW 1602 into a way to help others, in his name.
This story reached us through one of our own readers, a friend of Joris, and it is exactly the kind of thing we are glad to pass on. You can win his BMW for one euro, and every cent goes to Kom op tegen Kanker.
The car Joris always wanted
Joris dreamed of taking an old car and rebuilding it with his own hands. The BMW 1602 is a fitting choice: a compact, honest classic from 1970, the small saloon that launched BMW's 02 series and set the template for every 3 Series that followed. After his death, his family took on the restoration themselves and rebuilt the car so it could be given away for a good cause.
“Very early on we intended to do something for a good cause,” his father Achiel said. “That was who he was, helping other people. This fits his character completely.”
How to win it, and how it helps
The action is run by the cycling programme Vive le Vélo together with Kom op tegen Kanker, Belgium's biggest cancer charity. Taking part is simple. Send a text message with the words Vive Joris to the number 4342. Each message costs one euro, and the full amount goes to the charity. It is a raffle rather than an auction, so a single one-euro message is enough to give you a chance at the car.
Entries are open to adults only and they close on Sunday 26 July 2026, at around 21:50, when the winner will be drawn live during the final episode of the programme.
Why a small classic can mean so much
A BMW 1602 is not a supercar, and that is the point. It is a modest, well-loved classic that now carries a story far bigger than its value on paper. Restored by a grieving family and given away to fight the disease that took their son, it becomes something no showroom car ever could.
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We usually write about cars for what they do. This one matters for what it means. Joris did not get to finish his project or grow old, but through the patience of his parents and a one-euro text message, his car can still do something good for people he never met. That is worth a moment of your day.
So if this story moved you the way it moved us, send Vive Joris to 4342 before 26 July. It costs a single euro, it supports Kom op tegen Kanker, and it keeps a young man's kindness on the road. Thank you, Joris.
