Here are my pics from 3 days of Car Guy Mecca '03. (Click the links - I really did take more than one picture per event!) In a few posts below I have written my impressions about the events of each day.
The new venue for Concorso was excellent. Easier to get to, and a nice huge area for corral parking. THAT made it possible for us to direct all the M5's to one area - and other groups did the same. We had a really good turnout. As a result we drew many other M5 owners into the fold - I'm sure they will be visiting us here soon.
There were, as usual, too many Ferrari's to count, Lamborghini's as far as the eye could see (including several Gallardos, which, to my eye, are more beautiful than the Murcielago), Maserati's a-plenty and plenty of eye candy in the corral as well.
Friday night Gustav, Mark and Anita joined me for dinner, and then we went to watch the auctions - always a good show. Our own Elliott Grossman (HadE55NowM5), who works for Symbolic Motor Car Company, once again graciously gave us passes. Even more gracious, he let me sit in the Porsche 917 they were showing. What a thrill to simply sit (rather, lay) in this car and fantasize, just for an instant, about its amazing past and the people who drove it.
__________________
'00 M5 - The Ultimate Ultimate Driving Machine! Greg's M5 Page
'01 996 TT - Greg's Porsche Turbo Page
'00 A6 4.2 - doesn't deserve a web page
Look in the Historics section (link in 1st post) for pictures of:
The new BMW 5 Series. (I like it.)
Some of the literally DOZENS of Bugatti racers on the track (Bugatti, allong with Ford, were this year's featured marque. )
Some of the literally DOZENS of Ford GT40's that were there - of every version (Mark I, II, III and IV). I am quite certain that nobody will ever see this many GT40's together again, let alone get to watch and hear them race.
Intake manifolds and cylinder heads as far as the eye can see at the Edelbrock booth.
A vintage Ferrari with a trailer hitch (!!!), towing a vintage motorcycle.
A gas-powered bar stool.
A Bugatti Veyron being run hard. The car led some pace laps along with two of key sponsor Chrysler's Crossfires, but also got the track to himself for a couple of exhibition laps at lunch. All alone on the track, the guy managed to lose control early in the braking zone for Turn 2, and slid off the track in a cloud of dust. This being a 1000HP car and that being the longest, fastest straight, it was a pretty hair-raising moment. (For those of you who have driven Laguna, he went off well BEFORE the turn itself. I figure he must have gotten more speed than he knew what to do with coming up the front straight, and didn't clench his butt-cheels hard enough when he came over the rise at Turn 1 and discovered the car drifting to the right.) But as the dust settled, the car emerged, appearing unscathed onto the track, and completed his laps.
__________________
'00 M5 - The Ultimate Ultimate Driving Machine! Greg's M5 Page
'01 996 TT - Greg's Porsche Turbo Page
'00 A6 4.2 - doesn't deserve a web page
Wow, totally stunning set ... you have good eye Greg !
Was that a Daytona "TOWING" the motorcycle ? An MV Augusta maybe?
__________________
Andre
E 39: CB / Black - most tasteful options (fondly missed)
E 60: IB/Black - Everything except vented seats and split rears (gone)
997 C2S with X51 power kit: Black on black, most tasteful options I think
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take.. but by the moments that take our breath away.
KRM - I liked the E60, inside and out. i thought it looked updated but it didn't grab me and shake me about the head and shoulders with any "in your face" design risks like the famed 745i butt or the Z4 side markers. I found it familiar as a fiver, with a look of quality and practicality. But I also listened to others' comments - some folks still thought it was ugly.
M Power - I am not much of a vintage Ferrari expert. All I know is it is a pretty car. As for the bike, I zoomed up on the original picture, and you were right:
__________________
'00 M5 - The Ultimate Ultimate Driving Machine! Greg's M5 Page
'01 996 TT - Greg's Porsche Turbo Page
'00 A6 4.2 - doesn't deserve a web page
Greg- First off let me say THANKS for spending all that time and effort loading these pics, they are great!! When you have a second could you explain to me (in a timeline perhaps) how the events went? Were they all in one day? I noticed that some members were getting rooms down in the area and that led me to beleive that it was a multi-day trip for all three events?
Thanks in advance for your feedback and thank you again for the pictures!
Thanks for the Monterey pictures. That is a great picture you took of me in my Jaguar C-Type (number 35) with my friend Terry Larson just behind in a black C-Type (number 100). We had a blast this last weekend!!
The Historics get bettter every year. Honored mark for next year will be Ferrari, it should prove to be another good show.
Our next event will be Coronado Speed Festival at the North Island Naval Air Base on Coronado Island, Mission Bay, San Diego. That event is very special as the Navy puts on a really good show of their own.
An interesting note on the new Bugatti: The "handlers" for the car told us that they sold the first 14 cars to an Arab Shiek. He bought one for each of his 12 sons and two for himself. At $1,100,000 each, now that is commitment.
Linear Mode
