Porsche Rennsport Reunion 7
***We start with a warning. What you are about to read is only a surface look at one of the events that every car person should put on their bucket list and you will have time to add it to your list because it will not happen again for another three to five years if history is an indicator.
That said….
Every few years an event occurs that draws people from far and wide to gather on the rolling hills of the Monterey Peninsula and stare into the distance taking in the magnitude and overwhelming gravitational pull of this happening, where we stand in awe of stars and giants. We’re not talking about an interplanetary event in the heavens above. We’re talking about Porsche Rennsport Reunion 7. This gathering returned after a 5 year absence, from the last Rennsport in 2018. This year would see the return of Rennsport for the 7th time and the fourth straight time at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Over the four-day long event, 91,000 fans visited the iconic raceway to bask in all things Porsche.
Rennsport (the German for racing) is a gathering of history really, made up of rare and iconic Porsches from road cars to race cars, the car’s designers and makers, plus the people who share passion and enthusiasm for the brand. Legendary Porsche racing drivers show up, sometimes racing in the very cars that have propelled them to victory over the 75 years of Porsche’s existence. Rennsport, this year especially, is also about the future. Porsche likes to use the occasion to show off the stuff on tap for the company and it really loves to use the occasion to blow minds by releasing cars it’s kept completely under wraps. Let’s face it, Porsche could have done this stuff during Car Week in August, but it chose instead to throw it’s own 75th birthday party and share the mic-dropping awesomeness with those of us who love the cars, the history and the brand. It draws people from every corner of the Porsche ecosystem, from the drivers, engineers, mechanics, collectors, restorers, fans and so many more, to continue the shared love for Porsche and its automobiles. The sheer tonnage of auditory and visual stimuli of Rennsport make it challenging, almost impossible, to describe and/or to completely take in. We left the last Rennsport in 2018 with Porsche vertigo, staggering back home, asking ourselves, how do we make sense of what we saw in a way that we can distill it down to something manageable? We still face this conundrum…again.
Getting Around: The Shuttles
As we walked into the track on our first day we discussed the possibility of Porsche wrapping it’s shuttle cars in some of their notable racing liveries as they had done with new Panameras for the 2018 event. Somebody must have been listening because they were waaay ahead of us. Porsche gussied up more than one model for this year’s event, and the shuttle rides were going like hotcakes and all were invited to hop in. There were so many rolling around the sprawling campus that we might not have seen them all over our 4 day visit. After going through our thousands of photos, we can confirm that the vehicles in rotation were Panameras, Macans, and the electric Taycan in both regular 4-door and Sport Turismo flavors. The liveries included the always popular Pink Pig (Die Sow, auf Deutsche), Sunoco, Gulf, New Man, Martini, Brumos, and Vaillant. This was just the shuttles, mind you, just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
Heritage/Rarities:
One of the most memorable things about Rennsport is how it manages to bring together living examples of Porsche’s storied Motorsport history. The cars that established the Porsche racing legend and often saved the company from potential demise. For most, these marquee Porsches, of which there are many, are only accessible in books and online videos, but Rennsport brings them to life.
The iconic 906 which left a mark across Europe throughout the 1960s including taking positions 4-5-6-7 at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans behind the overpowered Ford GT 40 MKIIs. Of the 65 906’s built only 40 exist today.
We first saw Chassis 906-158 aka “El Tigre” at the Pebble Beach Concourse d’Elegance back in August and this time got to see it out on track at Laguna Seca. It was damaged at Daytona in 1966 and was repainted in the black and yellow paint scheme that earned it the nickname. Today the effect is accomplished using tape.
The design of “El Tigre” is not paint but rather done with tape.
An immediate standout in the Tag Heuer Heritage tent was the Porsche 907K owned by comedian Jerry Seinfeld. The 907 LH (longtail) was a stunning standout in the heritage tent surrounded by over a dozen other significant Porsches that all could be center stage in any show, but the 907K just drowns everything else around it out. This particular example represented Porsche’s first victory at Daytona and the maiden Porsche win a 24-hour race piloted by Vic Elford, Jochen Neerspach, Rolf Stommelen, Jo Siffert and Hans Herrmann. The presence of the 907 LH is one of the few times that something somewhat outshines a 917 K displayed only a few feet away.
The 1: Displayed quietly but prominently in the paddock was the 356/1, the first road-legal Porsche car built under the Porsche name and badge. Stunning, yet reserved given the totality of the eye candy on display around it, it could have been easy for fans to walk by and not fully appreciate its history. The car was first certified for road use on June 8, 1948.
The Porsche longtails never fail to drop jaws and break necks (as above). These high speed specialists are exceedingly rare and absolutely unforgettable. The 1968 908 LH (“langheck,” German for long tail) in the video below finished 11th overall and 3rd in class in the 1968 Monza 1000kms.
Unveilings…
GT3 R Rennsport
Whispers permeated the paddock from the moment the event started on Thursday. Actually, rumors were swirling on social media in the weeks leading up to Rennsport that Porsche was going to unveil something(s) special. Porsche went full track mode with the unveiling of the Porsche 911 GT3 R rennsport, a limited edition, track-only car producing 611hp. It is limited to 77 units and starts at a price of $1,046,000. It’s Porsche’s effort to unleash the engineers to design a track only car that without restrictions that is ineligible to race in any series. Porsche announced that the run had been completely sold out within minutes of announcing its existence.
Porsche Tag Heuer Panamericana Tribute
Centered inside the TAG Heuer Heritage tent on the first day of the event was a puzzling display. Amongst the icons of Porsche’s motorsport history sat what appeared to be a modern car under a fitted car cover. What could this be, to find itself amongst a 907, 917k, 550 Spyder, and 930 amongst so many others? The cover would come off a day later to reveal a special model to mark the 70th anniversary of Porsche’s participation in the legendary Carrera Panamericana road race and the 60th anniversary of Jack Heuer’s wristwatch for racing drivers, called the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph. The tribute was one of two tribute 718 Cayman GT4 RS models featuring TAG Heuer branding. The car on display is part of a two-car edition by Porsche’s Sonderwunsch (German for “special wishes”) specialty program.
The tribute 718 GT4…
The 1953 550 Coupe that the above pays homage to
Mission X
Nodding to the electric future of mobility, Porsche unveiled the Mission X concept study for the first time in North America. A stunning design that Porsche says “is a collection of ideas, and shows a vision of what a Porsche hypercar of the future could look like.”
If this is the future, you can sign us up!
The Tractors?
The tractors, you ask??? What on earth do tractors have to do with a maker of amazing sportscars?
Before World War 2, and before Ferdinand Porsche affixed his surname to any amazing sortscars, his design company designed and consulted on many different things for German industry and for the German government as the country geared up for its war effort. These aircooled and diesel workhorses paid the bills for the nascent company, enabling Porsche to persevere through the war years and come out the other side to begin to make little lightweight aluminum sportscars. An unlikely origin story perhaps, but true nonetheless. These mostly red Jr., Standard, Super, and Master flavors of these rural workhorses seemed to catch everyone by surprise at the previous Rennsport, and became instant event favorites as racing drivers, luminaries, and celebrities donned helmets and took to the 2.238 mile track for what else, but a race! Not a particularly fast or exciting race, but one none will ever be able to forget.
This year was no different. There were at least as many examples (apparently 23) as there were last time and they were almost all corralled in the same place in an impressive display that put a smile on every face. There’s just something about an old tractor.?.? And speaking of “something,” there was one tractor that wasn’t like the others. It’s one that we’ve seen a million times, but only in pictures. Among the field of mostly red “tractory” looking tractors was the Porsche-designed 1954 Allgaier 312. Looking more like a streamlined train from the 30s or 40s, this aerodynamic looking, skirted, gas powered beauty apparently wasn’t built to smash any speed records or win any beauty contests. It’s narrow chassis and smooth outer cladding was designed specifically for use in South American coffee plantations. The sleek design allowed it to move through coffee plants without damaging them and the gas engine was used because it didn’t cover the plants in nasty diesel soot. Form follows function to the max. Tractors rule!
The Racing
Motorsport is a significant part of the DNA of Porsche with wins in nearly every discipline of racing. Porsche has 19 wins as a manufacturer at the 24 Hours of Le Mans since their first in 1970 and they have the most consecutive wins with seven between 1981 to 1987. Rennsport Reunion isn’t just a show of the ultra rare and pinnacle of historic examples from Porsche but a chance to see most of the cars in the paddock in their natural habitat out on track.
With multiple classes of racing representing the beginnings of Porsche in motorsport with race crafted 356s all the way to demonstrating their most recent attack on sports car racing with the Penske Porsche 963. To see a Porsche 917k on track and then 30 minutes later see the 919 tribute ripping up the rolling hills of Laguna Seca makes for an unforgettable morning. These moments were repeated hour by hour and day by day as the 7 racing groups circulated around the track.
Personalities/Icons
If the hundreds of amazing Porsches weren’t enough, Porsche made sure to back them up with the people and personalities that make it our favorite brand. They also did an unbelievable job inviting and entertaining scores of the people that have made Porsche great. Not just the drivers, but the designers, the builders, the engineers, the collectors, the restorers, the customizers, the superfans and even some of the family….literally, Porsches. It seemed like every couple of hours, the PA person would be announcing yet another structured “legends autograph session” where anyone could get their program or other accumulated swag or cherished memorabilia signed by a long line of featured luminaries including Derek Bell, Norbert Singer, Jacky Ickx, or the event’s Grand Marshals, Patrick Long and Alwin Springer (and many many more).
On top of those featured guests, we came across lots and lots of notable Porsche fans including Jerry Seinfeld, NBA Great Dwyane Wade, John Oates of Hall and Oates, Peter Brock, Adam Carolla, Graham Rahal and Courtney Force,
NBA legend Dwayne Wade discusses tractors with Jeff Zwart.
It’s Jerry Seinfeld!
Corrals / Parking Lots
No trip to any racing event at Laguna Seca is complete without at least one carspotting expedition through any of its numerous parking lots and car club corrals. For any other event, the joy of carspotting is finding an automotive gem among the rabble of rental cars, attendee’s daily drivers, and track support vehicles. Doing this at Rennsport is a completely different animal. You get to try to spot amazing Porsches from fields of “just” Porsches. As amazing as the 300+ cars participating in the Rennsport Reunion were, the cars around and adjacent to the event were no less fantastic…some in their spec and others in their sheer number. In and around the lagoon area, many of these cars were parked in groups based on their model and type codes. Non-Porsche nerds shrug and fall asleep now, but for the real nerds it wasn’t just 911s with 911s, 912s with 912s, the 911 flavors were broken down and parked G bodies, 964s, 993s, 996s etc, each group by itself. Even the Cayenne and Macans had their own corrals. The whole family was there, air and water cooled, front, mid, and mid-engined, two, and four wheel drive and cars and SUVs…the whole pantheon of our favorite marque.
We went out into the hinterlands numerous times over 4 days and every stroll delivered the goods. It was absolute overload in the best possible way. It was worth the price of admission all on its own.
As mentioned above, this report doesn’t cover all of the things of Rennsport. The tonnage of things going on and moving around was simply overwhelming. Each of the four days we were there were significantly different in overall vibe and presentation. With the exception of incredibly poor merchandising and availability of event memorabilia, Porsche never set a foot wrong in their delivery of probably the greatest Porsche-centric event in history. The mega gallery below should show you a little more detail relating to what we’ve described in this report and also some of the things we didn’t cover. The event also featured a scavenger hunt, Doobie Brothers concert, screening of the latest Transformers movie, an offroad driving experience, Special Wishes program (Sonderwunschaus) building, bier (beer) gardens, Esports gaming pavilion, two rounds of the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America Series, lots of hospitality and…….nail polish.?.? Yeah, on top of everything, Porsche even partnered with Moxie Nail Varnish to show off a line of nail polish in four shades based on Porsche paint colors (Riviera Blue, Mint Green, Speed Yellow and Ruby Star).
Our unpaid hand model Heather Taylor applying a coat of Ruby Star!
A final thought…
Since returning to reality we’ve heard plenty of people proclaim that no other car company could throw a party like Porsche did with #RR7. Initially, that comment sounded a bit ridiculous to us. Surely some automaker, umpteen times bigger than Porsche, could deliver an experience grander than Rennsport. A GM, Ford, or even Ferrari could undoubtedly blow a lot of money on a party celebrating their brand. That’s probably pretty easy…but upon further reflection of our long weekend, we’re not so sure anymore. What Porsche did was qualitatively more than throwing a self-aggrandizing party.
A week after the event we heard a comment made numerous times by automotive journalist Jonny Lieberman. He made the point that many automakers didn’t actually own their first creations. Making a new car is expensive, and plenty of automakers didn’t have the luxury of retaining their first models out of the necessity to make money and thus more cars to sell and so on and so forth. Assuming Jonny’s correct and with that concept in mind, we considered what we saw in just one row of cars at Rennsport.
The pit lane garages transformed….
The pit garage lane was bookended by the first Porsche ever made and an all electric production based car (GT4 e-Performance) that we’ll be seeing on racetracks around the world in the next couple of years. And in between those cars were scores of the most significant and iconic road and racing cars ever created. It was completely overwhelming, and that was just one row of cars at the edge of an enormous event. It also created an atmosphere to let the world that it really understands its universe. Neither of us own a Porsche, and we felt just as much part of the family as whoever else in the crowd was about to head to the Sonderwunsch building to order and uber-bedazzle Porsche’s latest 911 S/T (starting at $291K!).
So if another manufacturer wants to show party flex on Porsche, that’s totally fine, and we hope we can join that party. We’re pretty sure though, that nothing in our lifetime is going match the quality and quantity of Rennsport Reunion 7. We wish all comers the best of luck.
Happy 75th Porsche, that was one hell of a party!
-The Loud Pedal
