Rennsport Reunion is an almost overwhelming experience for any Porsche fanatic. Hell, this wasn’t even my first one and I was nearly brought to tears by the quality and diversity of ass-engine’d sports cars in Monterey’s Laguna Seca raceway. These are some of the best cars from just the parking lots.
Porsche’s first sports cars are may look like expensive bathtubs, but hot damn, they’re great to drive and incredible to behold, especially when they’re as perfectly set up as this blue one is. Bonus points for the red notchback in the foreground, too.
The Cayman GT4 is a perennial favorite among canyon carvers and track rats for its sharp handling and ease of control. This one is a GT4 RS which means it’s lighter, louder and sharper still and it looks amazing in this color.
The Macan rips. Seriously. It looks like a crossover SUV (because it is) but under its generally pleasant body lines lies the angry beating heart of a sports car. Ask anyone who’s driven a Macan hard and they’ll tell you that it’s way more capable than it should be.
There’s a term that a photography teacher of mine used to describe the one point in a photograph that first draws your eye: Punctum. Even in this sea of awesome iron, there’s one car that can’t help but draw your eye and that particular punctum is this Tangerine Orange longhood. What a little beauty.
Sometimes you just want to look at a bunch of GT3s all in a row. Or, if you’re me, that’s pretty much just all the time. The 997 GT3 RS in orange is particularly good, too.
There’s so much to unpack with this widebody beauty. First the color is great. Next, look at those wheels! Also, the GT2 bodywork is glorious. Is it a real 993 GT2? I have no idea. Do I even care? I do not.
The Manthey Racing GT3 MR is a car that even in my many years of Porsche nerdery, I’ve never seen in person. This one (with its non-standard but perfect wheel fitment) completely sells me on the concept. The idea here is basically like the Manthey Racing kits Porsche sells now for ungodly sums of money, just sort of like a preview of that.
There’s a lot to be said for the basic (and Guards Red is like the Ugg Boots and Pumpkin Spice Latte of Porsche colors) 80s G-Body 911 that someone has lightly modified and just drives. It’s a classic shape, paired with the driving experience that made so many people fall in love with the brand and while prices are high even on these normal production cars, they’re still accessible to many enthusiasts.
The 914 is a weird little car that caught more than its fair share of shit for decades for “not being a real Porsche.” Here’s the thing though: they rule. Sure the styling isn’t for everyone, but the driving dynamics are undeniably good and paved the way for cars like the Boxster and Cayman. Seeing this super clean example parked amidst a bunch of big-ass Cayennes also illustrates just how small the 914 really is.
The beautiful thing about Porsches, 911s in particular, is that because the car has been in continuous production for 60 years, and because of its success in all kinds of racing, and even its status as a cheap used sports car for a long time, there’s no one formula for how to do it right. Turbo or N/A, road or rally, bright and bold or silver and subtle. It’s all good and it was all at Rennsport Reunion VII.