• Dinslaken, a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, hosted 2,500+ cars for the 22nd International Club Day of Porsche Friends on May 1, 2024.
• The annual Porsche Treffen was the perfect excuse for the CSF 911 to make a timely appearance at the trotting track while it was in Germany.
• The gathering was well attended by fans and owners of the marque and enthusiasts were eager to admire the CSF 911 in detail.
• The international cameo at Porsche Treffen was its last before the CSF 911 and the Pit+Paddock x Bilstein E91 GTS Tribute mesh paths for our collective European tour.

For an event that typically attracts upwards of 2,500 Porsches, I have to admit that “International Club Day of Porsche Friends” doesn’t have much of a ring to it. It’s understandable, then, that the summertime assemblage is simply known as Porsche Treffen by most who attend. In true German regiment, the event always takes place on May 1st—regardless of where that falls in the week. Still, that rigidity doesn’t deter the flocks of Porsche enthusiasts that ascend onto Dinslaken’s trotting track. Some even traverse the English Channel—and many miles after that—just to strike it off of their Porsche bucket lists.

2024’s event, however, started with a tragic loss. Its founder, Ingo Rubener, passed away. In an instant, Porsche Treffen became a forum to remember the man who started a movement just as much as it always was a celebration of the cars that brought us all together. Despite large portions of the trotting track being under construction, Porsche Treffen tallied nearly 3,000 cars this time around. By the time the day was over, the only way you could remember everything you saw was through photos.

Still, we came to Porsche Treffen for one reason: the CSF 911 was making an appearance after running laps at the Nürburgring. Like many of us, Porsche Treffen was a must-attend event for CSF, and since its famed SEMA creation was in Germany already, it was a no-brainer to attend. We managed to intelligently sift through the thousands of Porsches en route to CSF’s display.

CERTAIN SHADE OF GREEN

My favorite small displacement cars just happened to be green at this year’s Porsche Treffen. A well-optioned Palma Green 914/6 GT was the first to catch my eye. There’s just something about this quirky midship that gets me all tingly inside. Since there were only 3,360 GTs ever made, I’m not sure if this is the real deal, but I’m not sure that matters. This thing is just downright cool. An Irish Green SWB Targa was next to draw my gaze. Among Pit+Paddock’s staff, I’m easily in the minority who adore the Targa body style. In this hue, with the period chrome trim, it’s hard to argue with its timeless, classy aesthetic. The last gathered crowds all day long: a Viper Green Carrera RSR. Its intent (and motorsport achievement) are almost the exact opposite of the Targa, but both cars have significant merit.

964 964s

Within the massive varietal, there was a generous amount of 964s. The Amethyst metallic 30 Jahre example (a.k.a “Jubi”) was an immediate standout. For the uninitiated, the car is based on the Carrera 4 but boasts the turbo’s widebody, Cup 1 wheels, an extended hand-stitched Rubicon Grey leather interior, and several 30 Jahre adornments throughout. A “Bad Boys” spec 3.6-liter Turbo was hard to ignore, especially with the RS Clubsport decklid fitted. I found myself running into this “simple” Rubystar Carrera on Cup 1s throughout the day, too. I must be getting old because more and more, I look at these wheels and think they’re hard to beat on Porsches of this vintage.

Another 964 seemed to be constantly surrounded by people, so I had to take a closer look. What appeared to be a rather normal example from afar revealed some surprises up close: there was carbon fiber everywhere. The small “Perfected in my Garage” sticker in the engine bay made me wonder if the owner devoted some considerable man-hours reimagining all these panels in carbon or whether that was the German equivalent of “built not bought”.

ROCKETSHIP

One car that I didn’t expect to see that day was a Brabus 900 Rocket R—one of 25 examples ever made. Based on the already capable 911 Turbo S, the Brabus’s superfluous title gives the car’s accolades away: it boasts 900hp and can achieve a top speed of 211mph. It’s not exactly the prettiest Porsche—the bodywork makes it look like an unfinished prototype car—but all of the seams, vents, and exaggerated proportions are functional in achieving its aerodynamic efficiency. The interior is quilted everywhere—even the floor mats—which is a shame for cookie enthusiasts or anyone with an ounce of taste. Still, I can respect what the car can do.

HELLO, KREMER

The Porsche 953 K3, especially in its orange Jägermeister livery, was impossible to ignore. It was a dominant force in motorsport at the time, winning the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans overall and several major endurance races at Sebring, Daytona, and the Nürburgring. Remarkably, it won 123 races out of the 370 races it entered, which was an immense feat in the late 70s. The car looked incredibly cool disassembled on the lawn, offering spectators a rare glimpse beneath the K3’s skin.

THE CSF 911

Finally, we arrived at the CSF booth. The CSF 911 was comfortably parked inside the tent’s confines with its decklid popped open. The Kinsler billet air intake plenum was front and center and beckoned onlookers to step in for a closer look. This was the first time I got to admire the car in excruciating detail. It’d take me more than a week to go over the lot. All the things you couldn’t see in most photos of the car—the repurposed 991 GT3RS titanium muffler, Hytech Tuned headers, titanium 935-Style exhaust tips, and the beautifully braided lines throughout—were on full display here. Naturally, we peeked around to spot all of the CSF upgrades, too: a dual engine cooler system, “OEM+” fender oil cooler (#8168), and an RS-style center oil cooler (#8201) were amongst the first to kickstart the company’s investment into fashioning cooling solutions for classic Porsche applications.

INTERVIEW WITH CSF

The up-close experience prompted me to call Ravi Dolwani, the owner of CSF Cooling, to talk with him about the CSF 911, the reason why it’s made an appearance on the other side of the world, and what statements he’s trying to make by doing so.

Hi Ravi, thanks for taking the time to chat. I know that driving your car in another state—especially across the country—is a special experience. What made you want to take the next (giant) step forward to experience that in Europe?
The main objective for shipping the CSF 911 to Europe / UK was to use it as a marketing and engagement tool to help raise awareness and expand the CSF High Performance brand in Europe. I believe that the CSF 911 is one of those cars that is really impactful if you see it in person. I tend to see a lot of people spending time with the car appreciating all of the details of the vehicle that are hard to capture unless you’re in front of it. I’m hoping that the more time that people spend with the CSF 911, the more they’ll engage with CSF as a brand…want to know and learn more, and hopefully turn into customers.

That makes a lot of sense (interacting with CSF in person is what turned me into a customer, too). What made Europe most appealing to you instead of another destination?
This is the market for CSF that we’re most focused on growing at the moment. As it pertains to Porsche Treffen, it’s the birthplace of the marque. I was excited to showcase the car (USDM Spec with California flavor) to the German crowd which is typically more conservative—OEM spec only, etc.

Porsche Treffen was recommended to us by our German distributor, and it looks like it was a great turnout! Seems like it’s one of the biggest, if not the biggest Porsche events in Germany. It was great to see the response to the car, and we even won an award.

You have a slew of other cars—even other Porsches—that could’ve made the trip. Why did you choose the CSF 911 for the European Tour?
While I do have other cars, this is the only one I would consider a “full build”. I think in order to showcase something at this level, it needs to be something that was built from the ground up. That’s the CSF 911. We’re also using the vehicle to push our new “Classic Series” especially with the air-cooled Porsche market.

There are synergies between CSF and Pit+Paddock already, but what made the CSF 911 and Pit+Paddock E91 GTS Tribute a perfect pairing for the adventure?
We have a great relationship between both companies. Not just in the special projects we’ve done in the past, but also in the close relationships between the management groups of both companies. Having the cars do this trip together is a great metaphor for the same close relationships of the people behind them. Again, it’s another experimental experience—the first of its kind between Pit+Paddock and a supporting vendor (CSF).
Also, it’s a BMW and a Porsche. These are two of the quintessential German sports car brands. Both are extremely unique in their own right, but also mirror each other in how custom each of the builds is—all of the high-level unique details and major components like the engines, bodywork, paint jobs, etc.

Let’s talk about all the stops that the cars will make together. What makes each destination significant?
Both cars will be attending Ultrace in Poland, the Players Show in the UK, and hopefully the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK as well. Along the way, the CSF 911 will be attending Luft in Poland and the Pit+Paddock x Bilstein E91 GTS Tribute will be attending the Evolve Takeover at BMW Park Lane in London. Each car has a slate of media opportunities during its journey through Europe and the UK.

Players is a great show—I’ve been many times—and CSF has been a supporting partner for more than five years now. Ultrace will be a new one for me. I hear it’s the go-to show now in Europe and has become more of a continental (or even global) show now. We’re planning a really nice display there which I hope resonates well with the attendees. It will be great to have both cars there to showcase the USA styling and the level of execution that we’ve been able to achieve between the partners that CSF and Pit+Paddock have teamed up.

Goodwood FOS, well that’s just the cream of the crop in terms of the prominence of having your car on display; it’s definitely a global show to the max. We’ll also be getting the 911 on track—I’ll be driving it myself—and I can’t wait to drive my 911 on the famous Goodwood Motor circuit.

What bigger statement did you want to make about American tuning culture on the trip?
I really want people to see the high level of execution on both of these builds—how every detail has been addressed and optimized to be done the “right way”—and I believe that the best cars in the USA are built to a level that is very hard to match. For so long I felt that US tuning culture was always trying to mimic JDM or Euro-spec, but here, I strongly feel like what we’ve achieved with these two cars is a truly American style. I hope people appreciate that when they see these cars.

What bigger statement did you want to make about CSF to enthusiasts across the pond?
That CSF is an authentic, global brand that is here to stay. Starting with the owner (me) all the way down the line, we’re a company of passionate enthusiasts who take our jobs seriously. The CSF 911 is an extension of the brand, the products that it represents, and the people who make the brand run. In essence, the level of quality you see in the CSF 911—the design, engineering, and technical details—is the same level of quality you’ll get when you buy a CSF Cooling product. Our arrival overseas is a notice to all the European cooling brands: we’ve come into your backyard, making a statement, and people are noticing.

I love it. The entire opportunity sounds like a bucket list trip. What’s next for you and the CSF 911? What could top this?
For the car, the trip is going as well as it could be, and it’s only just finished the first stop in Germany. I’m excited to join my car in the UK at the end of the month for the Player’s show and to be along the ride for Ultrace at the end of June in Poland. So yes, truly bucket list items happening with the car, especially with some of the media like Misha driving it at the Nurburgring last weekend. That’s just wild.

For the 911, I just hope it makes it back to my garage in California in one piece. Of course, the car will need some TLC once it’s back, but I’m just hoping everything that needs to be addressed can easily be fixed. It’s such a custom car, there is a big risk taking it on a journey like this. I have put a lot of trust in the people I work with over there to manage and take care of it. If this trip goes well, I don’t see why we can’t continue to take this trip to other places across the globe. It would be epic to have my car on display at TAS in Japan in 2025. But for now, I’m just looking forward to driving it down PCH in my hometown once I get it back home.

What could top this…my next build! The concept growing in my head by the day and the buzz that this trip is generating so far is giving me confidence to start my next project.

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