Last Canepa C & C of '14

[John Z Goriup]

July was the last time I visited the Canepa facility to enjoy Bruce's hospitality, the camaraderie of friends, and the usually exceptional selection of cars, both, as driven by visitors and for sale in the showroom and / or being worked on / restored in the shops. Didn't realize I how much I miss this event, until I arrived and saw the parking lot almost full - ( August's meeting was on the day the Motorsports Reunion kicked off, September was vacation time and we were out of town ). Perfect weather, great cars inside and outside, great attendance, all of it enhanced by the announcement a couple of days before that RR V would be held exactly one year from this weekend down the street in Laguna Seca………and the promise that this'll be a real blowout with twists to it 'that we can't even imagine yet".

There certainly was enough good car-stuff happening yesterday to sustain us over the winter until April of '15 when the Canepa C & Cs on the 2nd Saturday of each month are planned to resume again.

Thanks for looking and enjoy the photos,

All the best,

JZG

[John Z Goriup]

……..they kept arriving throughout the morning, some alone, some in small groups, and in some cases entire clubs would arrive.

[john1180]

Please sir, could I have some more?

[John Z Goriup]

Photos #2 & #3 are of an exceptionally clean and well-maintained '96 993 Turbo in Arena Red with light gray leather interior…………..a rare & splendid specimen.

[John Z Goriup]

The next two sets of photos are an attempt to capture the wide variety and excellence of the guest's "rides", all of which lend a delightfully festive aire of the unexpected to the whole event.

[John Z Goriup]

……….the second set of 'visitor's' cars that kept streaming in throughout the morning.

[John Z Goriup]

Moving inside into the showroom where completed, original, restored, refreshed and always incredibly desirable cars are waiting to fullfill fantasies.

Photos from the Canepa showroom always remind me of the old saying about recovering alcoholics……." one's too many, a hundred aren't enough !".

Someday I'll do a posting of all the cars just in the showroom, God knows there is enough there to rivet ones attention thoroughly - each car carries a detailed and complete document on the inside of the windshield describing pretty much everything worth knowing about that specific automobile.

For example, the '53 Cadillac Eldorado Special, completely restored down to the last nut & bolt, in original colors inside and out, one of 321 made that year ( photo #5 ).

Incidentally, in case you're wondering why some photos aren't quite as good as they should and could be ( I'm specifically referring to the VW & the Caddy images ) it's partly because I purposely drove down with just one camera, and for the first time in my memory, also just one lens, and NO flash ( since the body I'm using does not have a built-in flash ). The one lens I had mounted on the camera was a f2.0 35mm Leica M Summicron, not the f1.4 Summilux Aspheric I bought recently for just this kind of an occasion, where I want available-light-only photos. The f1.4 has a 50mm focal length, and there simply isn't enough room available most of the time to back up far enough to capture the entire subject. In my eyes this proves the fallacy of the dogma many like to follow, to own one camera with only one lens - it's simply not enough if you're willing to invest the time, effort & thought to present each subject in its best light……no pun intended. In my opinion It also proves that there are definitely "horses for courses", and that all types of cameras ( rangefinder, mirrorless, DSLR, etc. ) and lens type ( zoom, fixed prime, etc. ) need to be considered to maximize the story-telling content and image quality from each and every photograph. The main problem is that to add the latest equivalent f1.4 35mm Sumilix Aspheric Leica M lens to the inventory is $5,400 - it's a better lens but Geez, that's a lot of money.

[John Z Goriup]

Moving into the shop, new visitors are confronted with an astonishing array of fabled cars, unique projects and consistently fastidious work on a level and scale rarely encountered anywhere else, while re-affirming in the seasoned visitor / customer the comforting assurance that here is a group of experts that make up a truly dynamic, knowledgable, well-managed and smooth-running leader in the field of top-drawer restoration and race-car preparation.

[John Z Goriup]

Since the Canepa organization is primarily responsible for federalizing the Porsche 959 and making it available to US enthusiasts, the ultimate usable and sensible "Supercar" in Bruce's and his crews' opinions, it's no surprise that there are usually a few of them in the shop for repair and maintenance at all times.

They're not my cup of Stuttgart-brewed tea, much too modern, clinical, and way too complex, nor could I afford one even if I did lust after one, but seeing these masterpieces exposed and in the metal certgainly gives one a comprehensive idea of the magnitude of Helmuth Bott's achievement in creating this milestone vehicle.

In photo #5, please note the black '76 934 Porsche in for a complete re-fresh……….can't wait 'till next spring when that one starts to take shape for the season and hopefully RR V.

[John Z Goriup]

An immaculate '81 BMW M1, and several of a '60 Maserati 'Birdcage' in an advanced state of dis-assembly after participating in the '14 Motorsports Reunion where Maseratis were the featured marque.