Spotting guide Sofia
Hi, my name is James (@numberp1ates) and this is a spotting guide to Sofia Bulgaria. I have been spotting here for about a year so I would consider myself moderately experienced. In this guide I will give the best locations for spotting, ideal times to spot, how to interact with owners and the best ways of getting around the city.
With the intro out of the way I will now give some things to note while spotting.
- Ideal times to spot
Like most places summer is the best season to spot in. Weekends in the evening is ideal, but you might get some luck in the afternoon depending on the location.
- Owner interaction.
It is common knowledge that you should be respectful- don’t block cars, get in peoples shots, or be a general annoyance, but in Bulgaria some owners don’t appreciate getting filmed and people taking pictures of their cars (due to them not having “clean’’ money) , but as long as you keep your distance and blur plates/faces if asked to you will be fine. Aside from that most owners would be happy to give you a rev or two.
- How to get around
For the locations that I would suggest you can reach them all by public transport. Tickets are 60 to 80 eurocents depending on the type of transport. I will explain how to get to each individual location using public transport later on.
Locations
- The first location I will be talking about is Hotel Marinela. It is located at James Boucher boulevard and the m2 metro line stops across the street. The hotel and the entire area around it is ideal for car spotting. It has an exterior parking lot and an underground one, but it do suggest that you don’t enter the underground parking lot because the owners aren’t really happy about it. Alongside the hotel parking lot, there is rows of parked cars on the boulevard and most of the time you will see sportscars parked there with the occasional Ferrari and Lamborghini.
Cars spotted here: Bugatti mistral, Novitec 812 superfast, Ferrari gtc4lusso, Ferrari 458, Ferrari 849 Testarossa, Ferrari sf90, Lamborghini Aventador Sv, Ferrari 360 CS, Ferrari 599 GTO, multiple Ferrari 12cs, 911 gt3 touring, Ferrari 296 gtb and many more
2.The second location is centered around highway spotting. It is located at Fantastico dragalevci Cherni vrah boulevard. The spot is a supermarket in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in Sofia. There is a terrace with an outlook of a roundabout connecting the richer neighborhoods to the boulevard. It is a perfect place to sit down and have a drink and at the same time being able to car spot.
Cars spotted here: Ferrari 849 Testarossa, Lamborghini Huracan sto, Gemballa gt650 biturbo(spotted by a friend), a couple of 12 cilindris, Ferrari sf90.
How to get there: You can take bus number x9 or 66 from paradise mall till cherni vrah station and then cross to the supermarket
3.The last location I will be mentioning is Hotel Intercontinental. It is located at Narodno sabranie square across from the st Alexander Nevski cathedral which is definitely worth a visit. Here you can find a large variety of cars and sometimes some events. It is also located in the center of Sofia, where you can see very beautiful architecture. Cars spotted: Lamborghini Aventador, Koenig specials 560(not by me), Aston Martin vanquish, Porsche 911 gt3, Porsche 911 Carrera
Things worth mentioning:
- One of the best time periods to spot is the graduation balls(балове). It takes place around the end of may and it’s a great opportunity to spot cars in the center around st Alexander Nevski cathedral. Cars spotted during the balls: 812 novitec superfast, Lamborghini Gallardo, multiple Aston martins, Mansory purosangue. And you can spot many more if you hang around.
2.Cars to look out for:
- Vanio Aleksievs Mistral (CB 1714 OE)
- Gemballa gt650 biturbo(CA 7691 CB)
- Ferrari 599 gto (CB 0599 OM)
- Novitec 812 superfast (CB 1368 XH)
- Koenig Specials 560 SEC (PA 5554 AM)
- Hennesey Venom GT (CB 3333 BP)
- Smart crossblade (CB 000000)
- Koenigsegg Jesko Attack #7280 (C COBYXX)
- Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut #7273 aka senshi (reg unknown)
- Koenigsegg Regera #7233 (reg unknown)
- Lamborghini sian(reg unknown)
- Lamborghini diablo SV roadster (CB 1998 TO)
- Bugatti Veyron 16.4 (CA 888888)
- Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport (Temp plate 016 B 108)
3.Cool plates that you might spot: C COCKY1 on a Geely starray , C C1POMAX(POOR PERSON) on a g wagon, C HAOT1C on a r8, C P5YCH0 on a Ferrari f8, B ATMAN1 on a ktm x bow, C BOTOXX on a x7
4.“Fake” g wagons
In Bulgaria, sadly many people buy fake facelift g wagons and brabus kits and most likely if you spot one that it would be fake. An easy way to tell is if the door is squared off or rounded. Newer models have rounded off doors and the older models have square ones. And as for the brabus kits it is really hard to tell the difference so just automatically assume it is not real.
Car related places to visit
- A1 motor park
This is a track located around an hour from Sofia and is a must visit if you like motorsport. They have a large variety of events, including open track days, which cost around 200 euros for a garage, transponders, etc. It is located amid some mountains, and the scenery is very beautiful. Tickets are 10 euros, and it is completely worth it. At some of the events, they even let you into the pits to look around. They also have track walks/rides which are pretty fun. The parking lot also is a great place to spot cars.
2.SF motors
This is a dealership located at Boulevard Tsraigradsko shose 86 has a constant flow of supercars and track cars definitely worth a visit.
And that’s it for my spotting guide. Hope you find it helpful, and happy spotting!
