Nice little event. This was the second year for this show and Porsche was the featured marque.
Bruce Canepa was the largest single exhibitor and brought several cars from his museum for exhibit. I've taken the liberty to steal some bandwidth from Chuck to show a few photos of his immaculate 917. He also brought the first of 37 '74 "shorthood" RSRs. There were two RS's in attendance, a very nice sand-beige matching numbers '67 911S. John Audette, you should have come down with your Rally car....surely you would be one Best of Class Trophy richer. Naturally, there was the usual gaggle of overrestored 356s of every persuasion, including that tragic, innocent victim of excess and bad taste run amuck.......the hand-painted Janis Joplin abomination, sorry,.....Cabriolet.
Saw my first new AMG M-B " Gullwing" in the flesh. It's huge for a mere 2-seater, probably quite weighty, and I just can't rid myself of the distinct impression that I'm looking at a very expensive kit car. The roof line in particular just isn't right. I'm genuinely surprised M-B management signed off on that model. Unfortunately for the new "supercar", there were 2 "real" 300 SLs on show as well, one a particularly clean 3-owner '58 roadster, in original color and upholstery with Rudge knock-offs ( one of 26 such roadsters made) and original fitted luggage, which has been in the same family for over 45 years. After the original owner, his best friend bought it from him in '64, now that man's son owns it. The other was a beige '56 Gullwing with red leather interior. The original 300SLs and the new car really shouldn't be on the same field at the same time...it encourages comparison and the new car simply doesn't bear up under scrutiny. Comparing the two cars gives you a very stark lesson in the various ways new cars have evolved.....and certainly not all for the better.
Another interseting contrast was presented by the Porsche new car exhibit with a couple of Panameras and the Aston-Martin display next door, featuring the brand-new A-M "Rapide" four-door sedan. Suddenly everything unflattering that's ever been said about the 4-door Porsche falls into place. Yes. it's bulbous, ungainly, not very graceful and looks a Hell of a lot heavier than it actually is. Next to the chunky Stuttgart sedan the A-M four-door effort is devastatingly elegant, sleek, handsome in the extreme and one simply cannot find fault with the lines that look so right............until you attempt to climb into what they euphamistically call the "rear seat". It's not nearly wide enough for normally sized people, and there simply is not enough headroom for anyone past the age of 12. My head was firmly jammed into the headliner and I know I couldn't have survived more than a 5-block drive for coffee. tEven though it looks much lighter and more delicate than the Porsche it is actually heavier. The A-Ms luggage carrying capacity is downright laughable......in short, the ultimate poseur's vehicle. The Porsche sedan on the other hand is a perfect demonstration of form following function, since the back seat is supremely comfortable even for a lardass of my size, whereas the AM, which admittedly looks wickedly beautiful and classical, is quite useless as a sedan for 4 adults, certainly for 4 normal US-sized folks. So it seems that the looks of the Panamera will continue to be a subject of much emotional debate, but if you want to actually use & enjoy the car as a family sedan, it's head, shoulder and torso above any other premium sedan available today.
For a Concours in Marin, expensive "look-at-me" Italian cars were very thin on the ground. A couple of sweet '60s vintage Alfas, a pair of Lancia's and one LWB California roadster. David Love's TR was shown, looking as good as new in it's fresh paint after last summer's shunt at the Historics.
Some interesting 'Murricasn iron, especially notable a '55 Nomad with 392 Chrysler Hemi, a super-clean GTO Judge ( exactly like the one I had when I was much younger and even more foolish ) and last but certainly not least a genuine VW Kuebelwagen. Charming little device.
Enjoy the photos
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