THIS YEAR’S AUTO SHOW WAS MORE VIBRANT THAN EVER, with 56,000 people attending the day that I was there – February 19 – thus breaking an all-time record for daily attendance.
From a Porsche perspective, the stars of the show were the 16 incredibly beautiful classic cars featured at the 75 Years of Porsche exhibit – produced by Cobble Beach Classics, in collaboration with the Canadian International Auto Show and Porsche Canada.Â
Featuring cars as rare as the 924 Carrera GTR – with only 17 produced, and raced in the 1981 Daytona, and subsequently by Ludwig Heimrath – the collection took months to pull together. But that’s what Cobble Beach Classics founder and 75 Years of Porsche curator Rob McLeese does best.
As a PCA UCR member since 1988, and the owner of a 1971 911E Targa, Rob has a long-standing passion for Porsche, and the UCR community. Thirteen of the 16 cars hail from Canada, with most from Ontario, and several are owned by PCA UCR members.
With the goal of providing the public an exhibit filled with cars they wouldn’t normally be able to see, Rob enjoyed the challenge of getting the owners of these beauties to agree to have them on display. One of the big logistical details to work out is the transportation of the cars to the show, with the owners all being very particular about which transport companies they trusted with their treasures.
Next up for the Cobble Beach Classics team is their Concours D’Élegance – near Owen Sound on September 15-17 – where you can enter your car, or simply attend to enjoy the beautiful display of classics from various auto manufacturers (park in the Porsche Corral for a $50 donation to the Owen Sound Regional Hospital). </>
Photography by Eshel Zweig
