Porsche race cars reunion at Quail Lodge

Compared with the Rennsport Reunion at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, the Race Car Classic at the Quail Lodge is taking a more serene approach, presenting the first decades of Porsche racing.

The 200 cars draped in loose silk gave the impression that Porsche is being buried, not praised. Later, things became more clear because a spectacular collection of racers was revealed, including many from the Porsche Museum and the Collier collection.

Among those 200 cars, there were no less than 15 Type 904 Carrera GTS cars and 10 Abarth Carrera GTL coupes. Also, there was the 550 Spyder contingent which included the 1953 550-01 prototype clad in the hardtop it wore at Le Mans. Another unique car was the yellow 1952 aluminum America Roadster, which was originally purchased by Briggs Cunningham and raced by Phil Walters. There were some 356-based vehicles, a 1952 Glockler Roadster and a pair of Denzel 1300 SS Roadsters.

Porsche race cars

This “outlaw” movement was represented by a yellow 550 Spyder. It wore fender flares and it had wide Goodyear racing slicks, powered by a 911 flat-six. Dave Merz’s car was another nonconformist car, a 1962 356B Carrera 2/2000GS coupe. The first 901 imported to the United States was also present.

Steve Heinrichs, the event organizer, is a Porsche enthusiast who survived lung cancer. He raised awareness of this disease, which kill more women than breast cancer and more men than other forms of cancer. He raised appreciation and awareness of many early Porsche race cars.

Source: Autoweek