Eye Candy: German car shows on Monterey peninsula

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2014
Legends of the Autobahn
BMW 3.0 CSL
Porsche 912s at the entrance of the Porsche Werks Reunion |Bob Golfen photos

German car fans have something to cheer about during Monterey Classic Car Week: Two enjoyably relaxed events on Friday that celebrate the solid, innovative automobiles from Deutschland.

For the second year, Porsche has its own standalone car show, the Porsche Werks Reunion, organized by the Porsche Club of America along with a gaggle of vintage-Porsche clubs. Previously, PCA teamed up with the other Germanic show, Legends of the Autobahn, but split away to hold the all-Porsche event last year.

A concours Judge inspects a Mercedes-Benz 190SL at Legends

Legends of the Autobahn, now in its seventh year, still holds its own under the auspices of BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi car clubs, presenting a rich array of vehicles in the gorgeous rural setting of the Nicklaus Club-Monterey. BMWs seemed to have the strongest presence, apparently since that car club takes a leading role in organizing and running the event, which started out as a BMW-only show.

The Porsche Werks Reunion brought vintage and contemporary sports cars, race cars, even modern Cayenne SUVs, to the Rancho Canada Golf Club in Carmel Valley. With a preponderance of the popular 911 of every era, along with many examples of the wonderfully quirky 356, the reunion covered the rolling hills of the golf course.

While 500 Porsches had been expected, the final number reportedly was closer to 800 by the time showtime rolled around.  The 40th anniversary of the Porsche Turbo was celebrated during the Werks Reunion, with a bunch of them hunkered down on the grass looking bold and aggressive.

Both the Porsche and Legends shows are free for spectators, though the Werks Reunion hits you with a $10 fee for parking. At either of the shows, the parking lots and surrounding areas are loaded with German cars that are often just as interesting as the ones inside standing on the grass.

Photos by Bob Golfen 

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Bob Golfen
Bob Golfen is a longtime automotive writer and editor, focusing on new vehicles, collector cars, car culture and the automotive lifestyle. He is the former automotive writer and editor for The Arizona Republic and SPEED.com, the website for the SPEED motorsports channel. He has written free-lance articles for a number of publications, including Autoweek, The New York Times and Barrett-Jackson auction catalogs. A collector car enthusiast with a wide range of knowledge about the old cars that we all love and desire, Bob enjoys tinkering with archaic machinery. His current obsession is a 1962 Porsche 356 Super coupe.