Rennsport Reunion 7: The Big Porsche Party
It’s been a year quite a year at Porsche with the brand’s 75th anniversary celebrations that came with a flurry of special events and new models. But what better way to celebrate than surrounded by your peers? The Rennsport Reunion (which is a combination of the German terms "Race" and "Sport") is the biggest Porsche gathering on the face of the Earth, and it only happens every 2-3 years. Since 2011, the gathering takes place at Laguna Seca Raceway near the seaside town of Monterey. The manufacturer wants not only to celebrate the manufacturer's achievements in motorsport, but also to bring together enthusiasts of the brand in the same place for a 4-day long weekend.
The Car Guide flew to the West Coast in order to meet these 91,000 Porsche fans eager to take part in the celebrations of these exploits, but also to keep the flame of passion lit in the midst of the shift towards electrification.
- Also: $1.4M Porsche 911 GT3 R rennsport Unveiled in Laguna Seca
- Also: 2024 Porsche 911 S/T: Anniversary Special is a Purist’s Treat
Between Competition and Exhibition
Rennsport was born as a race event, so the reunion obviously takes full advantage of the Laguna Seca track and its multiple turns. More than 300 Porsche race cars, new and old, and from a variety of associations and sanctioned series took to the circuit throughout the event, including the 911 GT3 Cup cars from the Deluxe Carrera Cup North American series. Spectators were even treated to a tractor race - because yes, Porsche produced tractors right up to 1963!
And it's in this competitive spirit that the manufacturer has unveiled the new GT3 R rennsport, a track-only car limited to 77 units at a price of 1.4 M each. It's not designed to take part in FIA-sanctioned races, but rather to break track records. In fact, factory driver Jörg Bergmeister clocked 1:20:00 on his first lap in Laguna Seca. In comparison, a 911 GT3 R prepared for IMSA endurance racing took an additional four seconds to complete the same exercise. The Car Guide also experienced the thrills of the track as a passenger in a 718 Cayman GT4 RS driven by none other than former Formula 1 driver Mark Webber at the wheel.
The Stuttgart-based brand took the opportunity to exhibit a variety of grands crus from its museum, including its very first creation, the Porsche 356. Armed with a 1.1-liter Volkswagen engine developing 35 horsepower, this precise example took to the road for the first time on June 8, 1948, the official date of Porsche's birth. But the Rennsport Reunion is also about the thousands of loyal owners who invade the grounds surrounding the track to show off their Porsches. This rainbow of 924s, 928s, 944s, 968s and 911s of every generation, condition and colour is really what gives this event its purist soul. And these enthusiasts come from all over the world to participate.
All the Way From Canada
In our search for provincial plates, we met Éric Deschenes, a Porsche enthusiast who drove the 5,000 kilometres from his home in Candiac, Québec to the Laguna Seca circuit to exhibit his 1-of-31 1986 944 Challenge Cup. Formerly owned by Canadian racing driver Rick Bye, who took part in two full seasons of the Rothmans Cup Series in 1986 and 1987 behind the wheel, in addition to numerous endurance races, this 944 has since been carefully restored by its new owner with an obsessive concern for originality that extends to the colour of the original bolts." This car hasn't had an easy life, but I wanted to restore it to its former glory. And that means taking care of the smallest details," explains Deschesne. I had the opportunity to show it to the original owner, Rick Bye, once the restoration was complete, and he shed a tear when he saw it!
What About Electrification ?
The Rennsport Reunion can be described as a gearhead party that satisfies all the senses, scented with a delicate hydrocarbon fragrance that blends perfectly with the mechanical symphony of Boxer engines. But its organizer is keen to remind us that electrification is lurking in the world of motorsports. We came across the Mission X concept, the automaker's latest electric creation, as well as the 1,073-hp GT4 e-Performance. In the exhibition area, on the other hand, Porsche Taycans and charging stations were scarce. Yes, the model is fairly recent, but that begs the question of the relevance of such events in a context where there's no sound, no smell, no manual or even sequential gearboxes. Yet some enthusiasts see this shift in a rather positive way.
Such is the case of Patrick Dempsey, star of the TV series Grey's Anatomy and car enthusiast, with whom we exchanged a few words between two autograph sessions. "Passion will evolve with technology. Batteries will get smaller, cars will weigh less, be more dynamic and fun to drive, but we have to let this technology evolve. Nor should we forget that synthetic fuels are also in development, which have the potential to keep our combustion-powered cars on the road and on the track without impacting the environment," Dempsey told The Car Guide. "As enthusiasts, we have a responsibility towards the environment, and while I don't believe one technology will solve everything, I do believe that the evolution of the various clean technologies inevitably involves racing!"