PORSCHE: WERKS REUNION MONTEREY 2021

Having recently joined the Porsche owner’s ranks with his ‘Poor Man’s’ 914, Car Guy Chronicles’ Jim Palam took a Friday-the-13th detour from Car Week events in Monterey and headed to Seaside to catch the air-cooled action at the PORSCHE: Werks Reunion Monterey 2021.

PORSCHE: WERKS REUNION MONTEREY 2021

In the wide-wide-world of sports cars, Porsche is the one enthusiasts call The Perfect Athlete. Built with the promise of perfection, performance and reliability, over two-thirds of all Porsches ever built are still on the road. When I saw the army of Stuttgart cars on the event fields and in parking areas, I wondered if all of these road athletes were heading to the Porsche: Werks Reunion MONTEREY 2021 at the Bayonet & Black Horse Golf Course in Seaside, CA.

The Werks Reunion is organized by the Porsche Club of America (PCA) and makes its splash twice a year – here in Seaside during Monterey Car Week and also as a concurrent event to the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance in Florida. This, the seventh Monterey Werks Reunion, featured judged categories, model-specific corrals, live music, vendors, and a sea of Porsches that drove to the gathering from points near and far. While there is judging at the Werks Reunions the events are more about comradery than competition.

With 529 Porsche Corral cars, 167 judged cars, and hundreds more to inspect and admire covering the outlying fairways and parking areas, the PORSCHE: Werks Reunion Monterey 2021 was a resounding success.The Bayonet & Black Horse Golf Course had proved once again that it is well-prepared to handle the crowds and the following day hosted the 2021 Concorso Italiano. Even though it took me buying a used 914 to spark my interest in the Werks Reunion I would whole-heartedly suggest that all Car Guys put it on your “Must-Do” events calendar.

This tasty orange “Sports Purpose” R-Grupp ‘71 911ST was built by TRE Motorsports. It’s powered by a Twin-Plug 3.4 motor mated to a 915 transmission. Period-correct Road course illumination comes from a six-lamp display that includes Cibie Pallas hood lamps.

Be still my heart! This is the gem that many a Porsche collector’s heart beats for – a 57 356A, T-1 1600 Super Sunroof Coupe. Finished in sensuous silver, this modified 356 features recessed body-mounted fog lamps – an original option installed by Reutter.

PORSCHE: WERKS REUNION MONTEREY 2021Here’s the view you usually catch of a Porsche 918 Spyder, albeit likely all blurry and far-ahead of you! This V8-powered hybrid had a limited production run and sold for over $800,000. This Lipstick Red example drew non-stop attention at the Michelin Tires display tent.

It’s my understanding that Greg Welch, the long-time owner of this perched-to-race 914-6R, is ready to move on to a new driving adventure. If you’re looking for a beautifully detailed and maintained 914, this show-stopper would be an awesome score. You can probably connect on the 914World Facebook page.

Don’t let the soft baby color fool you: This modified ‘75 Gulf Blue 911 Carrera from Patrick Motorsports was not created to be coddled; it’s built to kick ass and look good doing it! Mods include a bored & stroked 3.5L motor and Turbo fenders. PM handles every aspect of a car’s transformation – including engine, drivetrain, suspension, interior and paint.

The audacious 1,100 horsepower, 2,600-pound, BBi Autosport’s highly-modified Pikes Peak winning, 911 Porsche looks wicked parked in front of Yokohama’s show tent. I can drop a few orange-juicy words here but better yet – check out this drool-inducer video: @ https://www.bbiautosport.com/bbihc2021

Michael and Ann Marie Hartmann’s impeccable ’71 914-6 was open for inspection at the 2021 Werks Reunion. The Hartmann 914 is highly lauded in the online 914 community. Powered by an ’87 3.2 engine it is flawlessly finished in Glausurit single-stage Irish Green paint.

I maxed-out my telephoto lens to get this shot and was unable to get up-close to study the details. So, I’m guessing that it’s a road-huggin’ ’57 Porsche 356 Wide-Body replica. It wears racy-red paint, leather bonnet straps, chrome Porsche Crest hub caps and a Carrera nameplate.

Nicknamed the “Brazilian Tree Frog”, this 1-of-1 ‘08 987.1 Cayman S is believed to be the most expensive 987.1 ever built – with a MSRP approaching that of a 997 Turbo! Extensive options include the rare 1972 Paint to Sample LinGrün exterior finish, a Carrera Red full-leather interior, Turbo wheels, Sport Design Package and Aerokit.

Steven and Elena Berggren’s perfect ‘51 356 Pre-A Split-Window Coupe holds coachbuilder Reutter Stuttgart S/N 10627. This rare and meticulously restored Porsche is finished in Adria Metallic Blue with a gray cloth interior. It’s powered by a 1300 cc motor hooked to a “Crash Box” transmission.

Bill Packwood’s Collier GT tribute is a 70 914/6 GT featuring steel fender flares, balsa wood reinforced fiberglass deck lid plus 911S struts and brakes. Bill is one of the Three Amigos in hats standing behind the car on the left. In the middle is Sergio Meza who manufactured the GT’s custom engine lid.

This Guards Red ‘76 911 S appeared right at home in Seaside. It served as the location for Fort Ord, a WW II era U.S. Army Training Center. The post was closed in 1994 but a small portion remains an active military installation. This 911 S remains fully active – its ’84 Carrera 3.2 engine firing-up at command.

Here’s what happens when you roll your 911 into Russell Built’s transformation facility in Sun Valley, CA. You get the Dual-Sport Baja 911! TJ Russell and his team of Porsche magicians outfitted the donor car with a full-race suspension, luxury interior that includes a chromoly race-spec roll cage and a Rothsport Racing 365 horsepower 3.8L engine. This is a very specialized Porsche with a $600,000 starting price. If you’re interested in one, check out https://russellbuiltfab.com/ and allow approximately 14 months of build time!

PORSCHE: WERKS REUNION MONTEREY 2021Jim Chambers ordered his ‘18 Gelb Grün Lime Green 991.2 Porsche GT3 with the intention of driving it all over the U.S. and Europe, visiting his favorite race courses. To date, he’s hit Nürburgring, Monza, Mugello, Bugatti Circuit at Le Mans, Monaco, Sonoma, Thunderhill, CoTA and Laguna Seca.

Inspired by the spirit of a bygone Porsche era, this state-of-the-art Albert Blue ‘21 Targa 4S Heritage Edition is emblazoned with a large No. 50 race number and includes the Sports Package front and rear bumpers, and a Porsche 356 Homage instrument cluster.

What’s the buzz? Perhaps it’s from this all original, limited-edition Bumble Bee74 Porsche 914 LE owned by Tom & Janet Tyer. Only 500 914s were produced in this Black and Sunflower Yellow color scheme. Another 500 LEs were painted in Light Ivory and Phoenix Red and were known as Creamsicles.

San Jose, California Tech executive Phuong Le is comfortable in a world of technology and precision and is always looking for ways to improve his user experience. His testing ground just might be his ever-evolving ‘14 Cayman S 981. It has a GTS “firmware flash “and a full GT4 conversion. It’s finished (for now) in Custom Purple paint and LD97 Race Wing wheels.

Words & Photos ©Jim Palam, https://www.jimpalamphotos.com/

 

For more information about PORSCHE: WERKS REUNION MONTEREY 2021 and the PCA Werks Reunion organization, please visit https://www.werksreunion.com/monterey.cfm