1000 miles on the road, GT3RS, to meet 800 more Porsches
Discussion
Road trip!....
The Porsche Club of America has 109,000 members and runs numerous events, but the big one is Parade, a one week event which moves the a different location each year. This being the 50th anniversary of the 911, I decided to take the trip.
Never heard of Traverse City, Michigan?..Nope, I hadn't either. It is a lakeside town way up on the Michigan Peninsula about 400 miles from Toronto, about an even bet for trailering or driving. I had debated whether to go,but as dawn broke, it was time to roll.
The 997RS is quite an easy to car on a long distance drive, which I had forgotten. It had been waxed and tidied up as I had the naive idea I might put it in the Concours, where the parking was much better!. Still, it loafed along at 80 mph and over the week there were some twisty,empty back roads in the area.
I hooked up with a couple of 1969 911s West of Toronto, and as we progressed we picked up a few more, causing some curiosity from US customs. "Say, what's that thing worth", "Don't think you'll win" and various other comments. As we got closer to our destination we saw the closed trailers of the serious concours folks, and the hardy open and non-air conditioned cars, some from great distances, and of great ages . Some people drove from as far as Alaska. Entering the sprawling resort, every vintage and colour of car could be seen.
"Sprawling" was an understatement. "Yes sir, we have your shores condominium ready". Sure it was ready, over a mile from the hotel with a glorious view of a parking lot,a thick grove of trees beyond blocking the theoretical shore 500 yards away. The place had the feeling of early 1960s, but at least it was very cheap.
Room cleaning seemed to be an occasional service,random, like buying bread in a Soviet store in 1952.
However, enough of the bad stuff. Porsche enthusiasts were everywhere, and of every age.
The were two classes in the Concours...the real class and something called Street Class. "Great", I thought. "Street class must mean cars with road rash and the general track scars you get from harder driving". Street class meant only exterior and interior was inspected, no underneath, engine etc.
I got a very sinking feeling when I heard that the real Concours entrants had been there for days, in a huge garage which had been lined with sheets of plastic so the wheels never touched concrete. There, people had unbeleivable tools, brushes, creams, polishes,vacuums, lint removers,special jacks so that the real tools were never used, concours wheels which were wrapped in plastic covers , only fitted on the day of the Concours, when the car would be driven onto the field with the covers still fitted and only removed at the parking spot.
My poor RS was looking pretty shabby to say the least. "Aha"! I thought...at least the Street class would be OK. Then I saw people in the street class with toothbrushes, sprays, cloths,,,amazing stuff. Well, it was too late anyway,so I went to the $20 car handwash downtown and had the road flies washed off. My Route 66 co -driver had packed some emergency creams and cloths, so I did a desultory cleaning of the wheels. Good enough.
"Your marshalling time is 05:30." .......WHAT?...
Concours Morning.
I got up in the dark, the moon shining outside and drove over to the Concours site. How had I been unlucky enough to be chosen almost first?. Standing in a huge empty golf course in the dark, the car looked really good, however, Judging did not happen for five hours, and as the other cars were marshalled, a million cloths, and creams appeared, and the process continued. Shamed, I thought I would clean the wheels again. They suddenly looked filthy. Hmmm..the glass was a bit cloudy. The inside of the exhaust was greasy. It would never be clean.
Time was marching on, and I was out of cleaning cloths. I saw the judges in the distance. For Street Class there are only two…five timed minutes for the interior and exterior judge to complete their review. Very nice people. The exterior judge asked me if I had ever done a Concours, (nope) and to talk briefly about the car, and whether I had driven to the event. He also mentioned that they were not here to criticize. The car began in my mind to resemble something parked in Chernobyl. As I shuffled around doing nothing much they meticulously filled out the checklists. The interior judge checked avery compartment and when finished whispered quietly…."fur". The exterior judge ran a hand underneath the rear wing, quickly wiping his hand in the grass.
My dogs had never been in the car, but luggage had, and somewhere, stray Great Dane hair had found its way into the carpet. By now, the car seemed like the under tray of a hamster cage in my mind.
However, it turned out not to be a disgrace and had a mid pack score, good enough for a $20 car wash.
Good stuff was yet to come.........
However, some magnificent cars arrived, and the amazing range of Porsche colours was at its most varied.
"You like red, Sir?...how about a nice 1957 Speedster, or a rare Guards red GT3 RS?..".
"No?..could I interest you in something in blue, like this new 991?..Perhaps something bit older?"
" Of course, if green is your colour, we have a lovely selection for you
"
"Maybe you would like something a bit more summery, like yellow"
So, as expected, some very fine cars did deservedly well at the Concours and my $20 car wash got what it deserved too.
THere were some very rare cars at the event, and I will get to them at the next post..........
The Porsche Club of America has 109,000 members and runs numerous events, but the big one is Parade, a one week event which moves the a different location each year. This being the 50th anniversary of the 911, I decided to take the trip.
Never heard of Traverse City, Michigan?..Nope, I hadn't either. It is a lakeside town way up on the Michigan Peninsula about 400 miles from Toronto, about an even bet for trailering or driving. I had debated whether to go,but as dawn broke, it was time to roll.
The 997RS is quite an easy to car on a long distance drive, which I had forgotten. It had been waxed and tidied up as I had the naive idea I might put it in the Concours, where the parking was much better!. Still, it loafed along at 80 mph and over the week there were some twisty,empty back roads in the area.
I hooked up with a couple of 1969 911s West of Toronto, and as we progressed we picked up a few more, causing some curiosity from US customs. "Say, what's that thing worth", "Don't think you'll win" and various other comments. As we got closer to our destination we saw the closed trailers of the serious concours folks, and the hardy open and non-air conditioned cars, some from great distances, and of great ages . Some people drove from as far as Alaska. Entering the sprawling resort, every vintage and colour of car could be seen.
"Sprawling" was an understatement. "Yes sir, we have your shores condominium ready". Sure it was ready, over a mile from the hotel with a glorious view of a parking lot,a thick grove of trees beyond blocking the theoretical shore 500 yards away. The place had the feeling of early 1960s, but at least it was very cheap.
Room cleaning seemed to be an occasional service,random, like buying bread in a Soviet store in 1952.
However, enough of the bad stuff. Porsche enthusiasts were everywhere, and of every age.
The were two classes in the Concours...the real class and something called Street Class. "Great", I thought. "Street class must mean cars with road rash and the general track scars you get from harder driving". Street class meant only exterior and interior was inspected, no underneath, engine etc.
I got a very sinking feeling when I heard that the real Concours entrants had been there for days, in a huge garage which had been lined with sheets of plastic so the wheels never touched concrete. There, people had unbeleivable tools, brushes, creams, polishes,vacuums, lint removers,special jacks so that the real tools were never used, concours wheels which were wrapped in plastic covers , only fitted on the day of the Concours, when the car would be driven onto the field with the covers still fitted and only removed at the parking spot.
My poor RS was looking pretty shabby to say the least. "Aha"! I thought...at least the Street class would be OK. Then I saw people in the street class with toothbrushes, sprays, cloths,,,amazing stuff. Well, it was too late anyway,so I went to the $20 car handwash downtown and had the road flies washed off. My Route 66 co -driver had packed some emergency creams and cloths, so I did a desultory cleaning of the wheels. Good enough.
"Your marshalling time is 05:30." .......WHAT?...
Concours Morning.
I got up in the dark, the moon shining outside and drove over to the Concours site. How had I been unlucky enough to be chosen almost first?. Standing in a huge empty golf course in the dark, the car looked really good, however, Judging did not happen for five hours, and as the other cars were marshalled, a million cloths, and creams appeared, and the process continued. Shamed, I thought I would clean the wheels again. They suddenly looked filthy. Hmmm..the glass was a bit cloudy. The inside of the exhaust was greasy. It would never be clean.
Time was marching on, and I was out of cleaning cloths. I saw the judges in the distance. For Street Class there are only two…five timed minutes for the interior and exterior judge to complete their review. Very nice people. The exterior judge asked me if I had ever done a Concours, (nope) and to talk briefly about the car, and whether I had driven to the event. He also mentioned that they were not here to criticize. The car began in my mind to resemble something parked in Chernobyl. As I shuffled around doing nothing much they meticulously filled out the checklists. The interior judge checked avery compartment and when finished whispered quietly…."fur". The exterior judge ran a hand underneath the rear wing, quickly wiping his hand in the grass.
My dogs had never been in the car, but luggage had, and somewhere, stray Great Dane hair had found its way into the carpet. By now, the car seemed like the under tray of a hamster cage in my mind.
However, it turned out not to be a disgrace and had a mid pack score, good enough for a $20 car wash.
Good stuff was yet to come.........
However, some magnificent cars arrived, and the amazing range of Porsche colours was at its most varied.
"You like red, Sir?...how about a nice 1957 Speedster, or a rare Guards red GT3 RS?..".
"No?..could I interest you in something in blue, like this new 991?..Perhaps something bit older?"
" Of course, if green is your colour, we have a lovely selection for you
""Maybe you would like something a bit more summery, like yellow"
So, as expected, some very fine cars did deservedly well at the Concours and my $20 car wash got what it deserved too
. THere were some very rare cars at the event, and I will get to them at the next post..........
Edited by RDMcG on Tuesday 2nd July 01:16
Edited by RDMcG on Tuesday 2nd July 01:18
Edited by RDMcG on Tuesday 2nd July 16:18
I have never understood the obsession some people have with concours competitions, why buy such a great car and then not use it?
Your RS looks lovely by the way, used as it should be too!
P.S Just read an old article of yours where you picked up your 997.2 GT3RS and took it to the 'ring. It was a very good read
Your RS looks lovely by the way, used as it should be too!
P.S Just read an old article of yours where you picked up your 997.2 GT3RS and took it to the 'ring. It was a very good read
monthefish said:
Great write up and pics.
Out of interest, why did you take the Mk1 over the Mk2?
(have you still got both?)
Uncertain weather. Older car has SuperSports, not PS Cups. Just as well..the return trip was in biblically blinding rain with accidents everywhere.I still have the Gen.2.Out of interest, why did you take the Mk1 over the Mk2?
(have you still got both?)
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