• Legends of the Autobahn took place at Pacific Grove Links during the famed Monterey Car Week.
• Over 300 cars were displayed with exhibits from event sponsors.
• Porsche Club of America’s 8th Werks Reunion Monterey welcomed all Porsche clubs, owners, etc., to Monterey Pines Golf Club.
• The Porsche-centric event focuses on having fun and not competition.
• Michelin is the presenting sponsor for both events; each is free to attend for all spectators.

Looking at the events list for Monterey Car Week is daunting. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. The annual pilgrimage for quality automotive experiences gathers like-minded enthusiasts from around the world to pore over everything from exotics and concepts to vintage barn finds and restorations. What started as only the renowned Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance has transformed into a weeklong destination with myriad exciting opportunities occurring each day of the week. It’s enough to cause analysis paralysis. Lucky for us, a handful of our Drivers Project: Monterey Car Week guests had pre-determined booth responsibilities spread between a few events early in the week. These commitments made narrowing down our event destinations a little easier, and we corralled our joyous Drivers Project guests to each event. Join us as we relive the second installment of our Drivers Project: Monterey presented by Hawk Performance, where we take our group to the Legends of the Autobahn and PCA Werks Reunion events.

LEGENDS OF THE AUTOBAHN

The Legends of the Autobahn presented by Michelin at Pacific Grove Golf Links was our first tasting of Monterey Car Week, mainly because we had to leave at around 5 AM from Paso Robles, CA, to arrive in time for booth car entry and event setup. With multiple guests of our Drivers Project: Monterey car selection featuring in the BBS, Akrapovič, and MOTON booths, respectively, it was important we not only attended but arrived early. With our event selection for the day chosen, an early alarm clock setting, and the entire day to enjoy the event after setup had concluded, we set out to soak in the Legends occasion.

To be expected when the word Autobahn is in the title, the free-to-spectate gathering in Pacific Grove rounds up the nation’s preeminent German-marque car clubs, including BMW Car Club of America, the Mercedes Club of America, and the Audi Club of North America. While all three have representation across the grounds, most vehicles in attendance lean toward the BMW side. Like most other automotive events, there is a vendor (and event sponsor) section with quality industry partner booths, an area for judged car show parking, and different corrals for clubs to park together.

LEGENDS HIGHLIGHTS

Besides the near-perfect weather, our highlights included Paul Lefevre’s 2002 constantly surrounded by attendees and the small collection of Audi IMSA racecars positioned by the sand bunker. Additionally, an assemblage of unique Mercedes-Benz vehicles from CMS Motorsports & Restoration showcased a bygone era in the brand’s history.

PCA WERKS REUNION

With some Drivers Project: Monterey guests and vehicles committed to booths at Porsche Club of America’s (PCA) Werks Reunion presented by Michelin, the decision for our second stop during the Car Week festivities was, again, made for us. Meant to excite enthusiasts, this spectacular array of Porsches included rare classic specialties parked alongside contemporary performance beasts through a few fairways of the Monterey Pines Golf Club. You may have noticed the German-centric Legends event we attended the day before didn’t have any PCA involvement. Well, that’s because it throws its own event. This concept isn’t very inclusive, but with its stellar attendance numbers and club participation, Werks Reunion deservingly runs this solo.

There was something for everyone there — as long as you’re into the Porsche brand. The central fairway’s expanse ranged outward from the main stage conducting exciting interviews all day, various industry partner booths, a fun-focused car show area with many different classes, some remarkable examples of elite Porsche production history on display, and the usual mix of corral parking spanning numerous iconic model generations.

WERKS HIGHLIGHTS

Notable highlights smeared across the grass included a Silver Rose 959, a 964 C4 Leichtbau, and the #CSF911. The 959 sports a grail color for the 944. I don’t recall ever seeing a 959 in person or on the internet in the ultra-desirable 944 Turbo S Silver Rose color, but this one was spectacular. The 964 C4 Leichtbau is a proper best-of-both-worlds build. Initially starting life as an RS Leichtbau (Lightweight) — the rarest of the RS models for this chassis — a C4’s factory all-wheel-drive system was added to harness the agility of the Leichbau model while supplying the performance advantage of AWD. The #CSF911 is precisely what it sounds like: a 911 crafted by our partner, CSF. It showcased a special photoshoot on its custom poster positioned alongside — but more on that and the car itself later.

FREE TO SPECTATE

We’ll close out coverage by saying these incredible events with copious iconic, rare vehicles are free to spectate and open to non-club members. When choosing which events to attend during Car Week next year, add both Legends of the Autobahn and Werks Reunion to the list. You won’t be disappointed!

GROUP DINNERS IN CARMEL

In typical Drivers Project fashion, each night, we organized an upscale group dinner for all our guests at the Alvarado Street Brewery and the Rio Grill in Carmel, CA, respectively. These dinners allow the DP crew to kick back, relax, enjoy the company of the others on the trip, and digest the food and experience from each day.

For now, a continuing thank you to Hawk Performance and the rest of the Drivers Project: Monterey partners, including Akrapovič, ARP, Fluidampr, Gates, MOTON, MSS, SPAL, and Turbosmart, for making this trip possible. Join us in our next article as we take a trip to the fabled WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance (sans the fancy hats).

HISTORY OF DRIVERS PROJECT

For more information on previous Drivers Project programs, we invite you to visit the links below:
Drivers Project I: 1,200-Mile Adventure to Las Vegas
Drivers Project II: Northwest Road Trip to New York – Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3
Drivers Project III: Off-Road and Off the Beaten Path
Drivers Project IV: California Road Trip for Monterey Car Week – Part 1

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