Porsche and More at Legends of the Autobahn 2012 Car Show

Porsche, BMW, Mercedes and Audi on the Grass

Pictures and words by Gary Lieber
Porsche car show, Porsche RS 4.0, 2012 car show

Being a Car Guy, August is always my favorite time to be in the San Francisco Bay area. The Monterey Peninsula is just an hour away, and for the 3rd week in August Monterey becomes the center of the car universe. Every day that week there is something going on, from the Pebble Beach Concours Run-up, to the Monterey Historic Races at Laguna Seca Raceway, to the many Concours and cars shows that are going on.

Porsche Carerra , porsche car show, 2012 car show

This year I decided to attend one of the newer Concours, “The Legends of the Autobahn”. This Concours style car show is only 4 years old, but still has a local, intimate flavor to it. The Concours is held in Carmel Valley at the Rancho Canada Golf Course. The venue is just a few miles from the beautiful Pacific coastline and Pebble Beach, which provides a breathtaking background to view the cars.

Porsche car show, vintage Porsche race car, 2012 car show

The Concours started out as a BMW club event, and over the years has grown to include the local Porsche, Mercedes, and Audi clubs, too. This year there was an audience of several thousand on hand to view over 500 excellent examples of German cars.
The car show has a formal, judged Concours and also a great owners Corral, which in many ways rivals the fine Concours field of cars with many rare and exclusive examples of “daily driver” Porsche, BMW and Audi marques.

Porsche car show, vintage Porsche race car, 2012 car show

As a member of the Porsche Club of America, I decided to enter my 2002 911 Porsche Cabriolet just to see how I would do in the Concours. The level of competition was, as you would expect, extremely high, so despite 3 days of preparation, my 911 did not finish in the top three positions. Never the less, it was a fun day, with fantastic weather, great cars, and interesting personalities.

Enjoy some photos of the highlight cars of the event.

Porsche car show, Porsche carrera, 2012 car show

Who doesn’t love a Porsche Carrera?

legends of the autobahn, 2012 car show

About 500 examples of classic and modern German machinery filled the fairway.

BMW car show, vintage BMW, 2012 car show

This race prepped BMW looks ready for the track.

Mercedes car show, gull wing mercedes, 2012 car show

A pair of gull wing Mercedes.

Porsche car show, Porsche, 2012 car show

Modern Porsche muscle

Audi car show, Audi race car, 2012 car show

When thinking of Autobahn crushing sports cars, don’t forget about the Audi Quattro.

I hope to post more stories like this one with -Non Hot Rod- content, but I need your help! If you shoot a show like this, please let me know.

For more information on the Legends of the Autobahn, check out their homepage.