It’s finally time. From 8 -10 June 2018, Porsche is celebrating its 70th birthday with its first international Sportscar Together Day. Join Porsche, sports car drivers, friends and fans as we celebrate with events around the world.
We will see an amazing array of events throughout the Porsche world. For more information, we’ll continue to update the links below:
As if you needed further proof of the fact that interest in old Porsches is very high still, look no further than the fact that the prime parking spots for the next Luftgekühlt event – one that doesn’t even have an official location beyond the city of Torrance, CA – sold out in 15 hours! General admission tickets are still available, luckily. But I’d bet even those will get scarce. One of our very own covered last year’s event and he’s on track to cover it again for us this year, too. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for us this year!
We have three great events for you to register for right now! Join us for the Winter Warmer at Herb Chambers Porsche in Boston on Feb 25th at 10am. Then come to Ground School and learn all about Driver’s Education (track driving) events, safety equipment, and how to get the most from your Porsche on March 3 at 9:30am at HMS in Danvers. And, of course, the 2018 Ramble heading up to Maine on April 27th.
On Sunday, October 22, members of the club congregated at University Place, the new retail property in Westwood MA for a cars-and-coffee-and-car-show event to benefit our club charity, Homes For Our Troops. The weather was spectacular (due, of course, to Glenn!) and the turnout was tremendous. It was great fun to see families stroll through and check out the cars. Boxsters seemed to be big this year and took home half of the trophies! Check out the second video below for the awards ceremony with David G and his wife, Amy, taking home top honors. Thanks to everyone for coming out to the show!
And a special huge thanks to Betty, Glenn’s wife, for working the entry all day, handing out the car tags and ballots, counting the ballots, for setup and takedown – and for generally being awesome!
The kid’s choice award – the most coveted of the day.
Our PCA NER “knitting club”
NER had a big weekend this past Saturday and Sunday. Sunday was strong in Rhode Island. Sweet Berry Farm in Middletown hosted the SoBo (South of Boston) contingent of our club for a cars and coffee event. It was a bit misty and foggy but spirits were high and there was a strong turnout. The Newport Car Museum in Portsmouth hosted German Car Day all day as well. Many folks hit both events. Gunther and Maggie Buerman, owners of the Newport Car Museum, mentioned that they had a great crowd for their event with over 50 Porsches and a sizable number of Mercedes, BMW, Audi, and VWs on hand. Maggie was pleased to report that over 12,000 people have visited the museum since it opened earlier this year and that they are excited to host more events with our region in the coming year.
Many thanks once again to Roger Slocum for organizing all the great SoBo events this year. And thanks to the Newport Car Museum for the fun we’ve had there this season, too!
Photos by Josh Perrault
Halloween boo -boo?
Josh Perrault and Greg Newbert
Steve Ramponi’s F77
NCM’s newest addition
On Saturday, October 7th, some impressive cars gathered in Northboro to enjoy each other’s company and also to collect food supplies for the Worcester Veteran’s Inc. Food Bank. Our NER Treasurer, Robert Jacobsen, was the driving force behind this event and many local businesses came together to make it happen. This instance capped off a great season of cars and coffee event at LalaJava in Northboro, MA this season. 182 pounds of food was donated to the food bank which is especially important as we move into the holiday season. Many thanks to Robert and to all who attended the event and donated food to a great cause.
Local news coverage via Telegram.com – “Auto Buffs Aid Veterans at Cars and Coffee in Northboro”
Mike Leo and friends
Paul Curtis and his wife Heather with their lovely 914
Ron’s Ford GT and Colin’s Viper pack quite a bit of power into two parking spaces.
Colin explains the vast tire choices for Viper ACR Extremes – you get to choose Kumho’s and Hoosiers. Hoosiers last longer (!)
On Sunday, October 8, it all came together. Over 500 people converged on the track at Palmer Motorsports Park to enjoy a really fun day with great cars, awesome parade laps on the track, and great people – “Porsche On The Mountain” sponsored by Porsche of Norwell. All this despite a sudden downpour and major winds at 8:30 am that morning threatening everything that many people had worked hard to arrange.
By all measures, especially considering this was the first time this event has been held, it was a huge success. It isn’t just about the numbers – which easily beat our conservative estimates. It was the smiles of the people at the event. It was the general happiness that was clearly on display. Those are the real measures of success.
Spectacular race car – top notch restoration
It’s funny to reflect on the fact that we didn’t have long to pull all this together. The first materials started coming together in late July. That’s barely more than two months to get the word out, figure out the logistics of the event, what we would be doing, and how it would all work. Al Sandy from Palmer worked tirelessly to promote the event, gather sponsors, create custom trophies, herd us NER cats so that we lived up to our end of the bargain, and generally create something far bigger than most of us could have imagined at first.
It is a true testament to the intestinal fortitude of Al and folks like John Dunkle and Glenn Champagne that this event not only came together, but defied the weather to become something people will remember. It sure helps to have an amazing track to drive on all day. Even at parade lap speeds, it is a very exciting ride. I was in my 1973 Porsche 914 on stock-sized skinny tires and I’ll tell you that coming down through Turn 7 at full throttle – and this car is often full-throttle due to lack of grunt – was a very exciting place to be! And yet another very special moment where I had my son by my side – this time for his first ride on a major race track.
Another amazing father-son-bonding-moment: first time for him on the track! (thanks, John Dunkle!)
Palmer, and Al, specifically, were incredibly generous to invite Homes For Our Troops, our club charity, to be the beneficiaries of a big portion of the entry fees [update: this event raised $3,000 for Homes For Our Troops!! – an absolutely outstanding performance!]. Melanie, their representative, had her son, Dillon, with her at the event. It was a very happy moment for me to offer the 914 to Dick Anderson, our president, to give Dillon a ride on the track, likely his first time on a race track as well. This was perhaps the best way I can think of to use a Porsche.
I also greatly enjoyed seeing the number of kids who climbed into the shiny, new Porsche GT3 Powerwheels car that we brought to the track with generous help from Ron Savenor. Many kids had a blast spinning the tires and getting hands on with a vehicle at a type of event where they typically can look but can’t touch – a very hard thing for kids. Ron didn’t miss a beat agreeing to help facilitate this as soon as he heard the idea.
I met Tom who introduced me to Abby, his daughter. Abby only has her learner’s permit. But she has already purchased her first Porsche 944 and is doing all the work on it herself! I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to see young people get into this brand, 944’s specifically (great cars), and join our family. It’s an absolute pleasure to be in a family like this. Abby, you are phenomenal!
Abby bought this car before she has her full driving license. And she’s doing the work herself to fix it up and keep it going. Abby is awesome.
Al even thought of our furry visitors and had biscuits available for them. My daughter loved being able to facilitate the process of helping dogs make those biscuits disappear.
The staff at Palmer worked really hard in ways that most of us will never see. Porsche of Norwell embraced this event from the outset and very generously provided a huge amount of advertising support – not to mention bringing new Porsches to the event – for participants to try out!! Imagine your first Porsche test drive happens on a race track (at reasonable speeds and safely, of course)!! Our NER volunteers also put in great effort to bring this event to fruition. All of our regions in Zone 1 helped to promote the event as well as many of our regional sponsors and friends in the business. The fun that everyone had made every bit of it worthwhile.
Yet another fast Anderson!
We’re already looking forward to next year and will soon be learning from our missteps and building upon our successes. We thank all of you who braved the weather and came out to enjoy the day. Your smiles and your happiness are what all of this is about. We’ll see you there next year. If not before. [visit the 2018 event page to learn more and sign up for the 2nd annual event!]
[visit the 2018 event page to learn more and sign up for the 2nd annual event!]
I’m sure you’ve heard of Max Hoffman, legendary Austrian-American initial importer of Porsche cars to the United States, successful agitator for the Speedster concept directly with Porsche, for the Gullwing Mercedes 300SL concept with Mercedes, and primary importer of many other automotive brands to the US. Oddly, aside from his induction in the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2003, of course, his legacy has been largely uncelebrated. Until now.
Max Hoffman memorabilia display
On Sunday, October 1, 2017, organizers created an event called “Driven to America”, held at the Max Hoffman Center in Muttontown, NY to celebrate Mr. Hoffman’s mark on Porsche, specifically via the air-cooled rendition of our iconic marque. Being the first event of this sort, it was hard to know what to expect. Would it be the East Coast Luftgekuhlt? Or would it be a history-oriented cars-and-coffee type of event that required some of us to buy hotel rooms? Would it be a mind-blowing assembly of automotive hardware or a tepid collection of familiar models? There were no reliable predictions. But hopes were high.
I had a family event in CT Saturday evening, so I knew I’d be at least headed in the right direction to make it to Long Island. But it was still going to be a logistical challenge. Josh P., who you know from his stellar Luftgekuhlt article, was headed down to experience this and I desperately wanted to join him this time, after castigating myself for missing the big trip to LA. I cleared my plan with my better half – I would attend the event with my 10yo son while she attended to our daughter back in RI (no mean feat due to the iron will of my 7yo). I booked a room in Syosset, NY so we could roll in Saturday night from CT and be up early for Sunday’s show.
When I went to register for the show, I had to select the car I was bringing to secure a spot – but the selections allowed only cars from between 1953 and 1998 – the air-cooled cars – to be chosen. I had planned to bring my water-cooled 997. Suddenly that was not an option. I’d have to dig deeper into my automotive bag of tricks. My only air-cooled car, a ‘73 914 1.7 in Phoenix Rally Red (orange, with German humor applied), had been in storage for almost a full year. I had no idea what state it would be in after that. But, of course, I’d pull it out and drive it 350 miles in a weekend. Why wouldn’t I? I called my car storage facility and they got my car sprung and ready, meaning they started it and put some air in the tires. I decided an oil change and general look-over at German Motors in Providence would be prudent. Dennis, the lead mechanic there, was a huge help as usual. Overall the car didn’t need much – a miraculous thing in a 44-year-old car.
The drive to CT was pleasant enough. Not much foliage yet, but the rolling hills of northeastern CT are fun enough as is. The party at my sister’s house in West Hartford was lovely. My 17yo nephew drove his ‘68 Dodge – good guy. So we got a good picture with him and my stepfather, who formerly owned a lovely little Jaguar E-type in British racing green.
My son and I calculated a 10pm ETA in Syosset and hit the road from CT. Traffic was pretty light and soon enough we crossed the Throg’s Neck (we called it “Frog’s Breath” as kids) Bridge and soon were on the LIE. Just before 10pm we rolled into the lovely Comfort Inn.
The morning alarm was unwelcome but we got moving along and packed up. After a quick bite at the hotel, we fired up the cold, sleepy 914 again. No problem. Wow. It was 11 minutes to get to the site according to Waze. Only, Waze actually took us to a golf course nearby first. A lovely early 911 targa was just as lost with us there and we worked together to get the correct extra mile down the road to the Max Hoffman Center. As we rolled in, we got into a line of phenomenal cars, mostly old 911’s. In an early taste of NY attitude, the guy in front of us couldn’t be bothered to wait in line and waved insistently that he should be let through immediately even though there was no room for him to get by. Gotta love NY.
We quickly got parked up on the “promenade” next to a green 914-6 and remained one of two 914’s at the event for some time. Two more eventually showed up but one quickly left, seemingly after not getting an instant offer for the full $97k asking price posted in it’s window.
It was not even 8am yet and there were a decent number of show cars on display. The weather was a bit chilly and stiff in the shadows. But the DJ was squeezing as many decibels out of his system as it seemingly would allow, perhaps in an attempt to heighten the festive feeling. It was difficult to converse at first. My son and I surveyed the cars near us – many of the G-bodied cars and 993s in every imaginable hue, Josh and Nicole’s among them. Then we moved closer to the house and found an odd pairing of a lovely 930 in silver in front of a Porsche Diesel Junior tractor in red. Both were pristine and highly visual feasts for the eyes. I struggled to conceptualize the juxtaposition but enjoyed the view just the same. After passing a few lovely 356’s standing at attention guarding the rear “great lawn” we found the heart of the show.
There was an oddly-bright, blue pool set in the center of the “great lawn” with two plastic swans swimming on the light breezes. Around this pool were the treasures. A row of silver and chalk and red 356s of all sorts. Speedsters in abundance. A couple of Continentals. Racing cars – a 917, 910-014 which came third overall in the 1967 Targa Florio with Vic Elford and Jochen Neerpasch at the helm, , 908, 993’s and 964s. Sprinkled among them was a red 959, Singer re-imagined 911, g-Programm 911s, brightly colored 70’s Carreras, and a lawn of 993 Turbo S’s, flachblau’s, and simply lovely air cooled machines. Two purple ones. Different shades of purple even.
With the spectacular house behind them, the funny, oval pool inhabited by faux fowl, and the variegated car colors, it was a picture of marketing triumph.
How to travel in style
As the day wound on, we made our way to the “Porsche parking” right in front of the house to see the Metro NY Martini-livery motorhome surrounded by 997 GT2 RS’s, 997 GT3 RS’s, and plenty of 991’s, GT4’s, some 944’s, and Caymans, Boxsters, and even some 718s. This area filled quickly. Parked right outside the entry to the house was a 991 GT3, a 918 Spyder, and a Maclaren. That area soon swapped the Maclaren for another 918 that then again traded spots for a different Maclaren. Lamborghini Huracan’s had to go park in the cheap seats as there was no room for their types.
There was a nice display of pictures of the Max Hoffman showroom in Manhattan and of Mr. Hoffman himself. He was very successful but had no children to pass his legacy on. He left his estate to his wife. When she passed, the money went to his secretary. She decided to buy and restore the estate that is now known as the Max Hoffman Estate, even though he really had nothing to do with the property in his lifetime.
As we planned our route home and made final preparations for the drive, we ran across Magnus Walker who had just arrived at the show. I showed him the way to “the good ones” and he wisely replied, “they are all good ones.” True, that. I let him know that if he saw a humble, little 914 that it was ours and said our goodbyes. After use of the facilities we made it back toward our car and Magnus hadn’t made it too far, so we asked him for a photo and again thanked him. We packed our items and Magnus again was near. He came by to check out our car and we had a good chat. My son showed Magnus his picture with Jay Leno and Magnus was shocked that Jay wasn’t in his usual denim uniform enough to ask where the photo was taken. It was fun to tell him about the Audrain Museum in Newport and their unique preservation mission. You might think celebrities to be moving all too quickly through life, but Magnus even noticed my Racemark steering wheel and commented on my Porsche Design watch as we parted. His eye is very astute, indeed. My brief encounter with him was a strong indication to me that he’s good people.
My son gets “Turbo Fever” with Magnus Walker
We checked the ferry schedule and realized it was a no-go based on timing, so we again trundled down the LIE and over the Throg’s Neck, basking in a perfect fall New England day. The traffic on 95 all the way up the CT shore and into RI was pleasantly merciful most of the way. Traveling in an open (or targa-topped car, in our case) is a special way to travel. You get to use a sense that usually lies dormant – smell. Olfactory awareness is a highly underrated enjoyment in life. As we passed through New Haven, first we smelled the salt of the ocean as it crept up close to the highway. Then we got a good dose of the cooking meats and frying dough from the food trucks lining the waterfront park. It ended with a chemical and sharp smell of propane before we could even visually spot the large, white cylindrical storage tanks at the east end of the city. Many towns offered interesting scents for us to analyze, comment on, and laugh about. My son napped for a bit of the ride with the lulling sound of a flat-four, wind, and road noise ensuring a constantly soothing thrum in his ears. I looked over hoping to remember that image for the rest of my life.
We made it home just before dinner after three and a half hours of driving and two hundred miles. All that from a car that sat, waiting patiently for a full year just to feel the fall sunlight upon her bonnet. She isn’t fast. She isn’t easy to drive. But she is the only thing worth driving on days like that. Hat’s off to you, Max, for a job well done.
We wholeheartedly thank David Jacobson, owner of Collector Car Showcase and organizer of this whole event. Special thanks too to our neighbor region – Metro NY PCA – for staffing the event with a small army of friendly volunteers. I met Dan, the president of Metro NY, just after he had met Magnus and he was very friendly and helpful. And thanks to Chuck Bernstein, VP of Metro NY, for letting us know who helped pull it all together!
Nicole tries out the 356
Manhattan showroom designed by Frank Lloyd Wright
Still a great magazine
