Renn & sporty
Rennsport Reunion, the world’s biggest Porsche festival, is also truly a family fun day
The Customs and Border Protection officer at San Francisco International Airport didn’t know what Rennsport Reunion was, so I feel slightly less embarrassed that until last month, neither did I.
Shame on both of us, really. Rennsport Reunion is the world’s largest festival of Porsche fans, owners, racecar drivers and of course cars (especially heritage racing cars). Motorsport is always the foundation — it’s Rennsport, or “Racing Sport”, RS after all — but as the event has grown there has been a lot more scope to make it a truly family friendly festival of all things Porsche.
This year is only the seventh Reunion (aka RR7) since 2001, but the fourth at Laguna Seca, the famous Corkscrew-corner circuit near Monterey and Carmel in California. It’s been the default venue since 2011, providing the spectacular landscape and space for 91,000 attendees over four days this year, smashing the 2018 record of 80,000 despite a cold and wet Saturday.
It’s always been an American thing, too. British racing driver Brian Redman provided the catalyst when he organised a Porsche 50th anniversary event in 1999; it was so successful that then-Porsche Cars North America PR boss Bob Carlson secured factory support for the first Rennsport Reunion in 2001.
Excuse the short history lesson, but history is a big part of the Reunion.
Especially this year: it’s the 75th anniversary of the first Porsche road car and the 60th anniversary of the 911, which is still really the heart and soul of Porsche.
America is the right place for a number of reasons. It’s Porsche’s second home (California and the 911 just go together, right?) and its second- largest market worldwide, behind China. It’s also home to the world’s largest Porsche owners club, with 150,000 members. That’s a built-in, well-heeled audience right there. Although it’s supposed to be much more than that.
The factory does put its stamp on the event. There’s usually a big product launch, which this year was the 911 GT3 R rennsport track car.
Porsche also brings select cars from its Museum, which for 2023 included 356 “No.1”, the first-ever Porsche road car registered; running on 100 per cent eFuel for the event, too.
But most of the cars on display are privately owned, with the caveat that this includes private museum collections; nobody’s giving up their daily driver for the weekend.
There’s a hub for people to go to: Porsche Park in the Paddock, with a centre stage, lots of Porsche lifestyley stuff and it’s where the kids gravitate to, with Hot Wheels (fullsize 1987 944 Dirtmeister build on display, die cast to order), an autograph zone and movie machines like Pixar’s Lightning McQueen and Sally Carrera, plus
Mirage from Transformers: Ride of the Beasts (based on the rare 1993 911 Carrera RS 3.8).
But the other thing about RR7 is that once you venture out of the paddock to see what else is on offer, you’re immediately in the thick of it. Lots of major displays and activities are scattered in and around the pits, so with racing happening basically all through the four days — 90 individual events — you’re always surrounded by moving machinery.
It’s not just historic parade laps or 911 Carrera Cup competition, either: the Porsche Tractor Race is rapidly becoming an institution and it’s awesome. Scan the QR code to see the video for that (and everything else).
Where to start? Everywhere you look there’s something amazing. It’s the kind of place where you might be standing in amazement staring at Derek Bell’s 1986/87 Le Mans-winning 962 racecar, then wander around the corner . . . and see Derek Bell himself.
The Museum of Icons was a draw, with an old-timey garage setting matching Porsche road cars through the decades to their motorsport contemporaries. Not just any road cars, either: examples included the 1958 356 A Speedster purchased by Steve McQueen (the first brand-new car he bought) and raced, then sold . . . then bought back again.
Or the 1999 Carrera GT prototype formerly owned by Jerry Seinfeld, one of only two created (and the only surviving one) prior to production in 2003.
Yes, yes, celebrities. But it’s California, after all.
The Tag Heuer tent was also a place of great beauty, packed with classic racers celebrating the long partnership between the watchmaker and Porsche. They even share the Carrera name.
The display area was ostensibly to mark the 60th anniversary of the Tag Heuer Carrera, there was a new-vehicle launch — the 718 Cayman GT4 RS- based Tag Heuer x Legends of Panamericana special — but of course the whole tent was dripping with automotive delicacies. Obligatory Gulf- liveried Porsche 917 and Tag Monaco watch at the entrance.
It’s about the cars, but also about the place. A walk (or you could shuttle in a Cayenne) up to the legendary Corkscrew gives an opportunity to see some of these classic racecars doing what they were designed to, down a quick left-right that drops nearly 10 stories in a very short distance. But up there you also get a sense of the scale of Laguna Seca (it means “dry lake”) and a great view of a lot of the track.
Events like these are a great reflection of the strength of the brand.
There’s an incredible array of authentic stuff to appeal to the hardcore Porsche people; even company executives we talked to were blown away by some of the rare metal lurking around. But the Reunion is also an incredibly cool place to be even if you’re not wedded to the Stuttgart shield. And that’s the key.
In fact, the longest line by far was the official RR7 merchandise store, where people were happy(ish) to queue for 90min or more to take home a little premium-priced souvenir.
Who’d line up for so long for a logoed trinket or piece of clothing? Good question. But anyway.
I’d love to say this was a bucket list event for me, but as I have bravely admitted: I was unware until a few weeks ago. It’s definitely one now, and great to be able to tick it off at exactly the same time as I heard about it.