FOR RICHER, FOR PORSCHE

The biggest Porsche festival in the world, in the year that Porsche celebrates its 75th birthday... didn't disappoint

- TOM FORD

Sometimes, carefully curated preconception can turn out to be narrow-minded prejudice wrapped in a slightly less offensive winter jacket. An easy trope for a gathering of Californian Porsche enthusiasts had me imagining a lot of middle-aged white guys with crayon grey 911s, possibly all with toothy, too-white veneers. Polos, cargo shorts and New Balance trainers for that smart/casual vibe, a Porsche cap that flags weekend allegiance, ready for posh-people’s BugJam. And yet, turning up to Porsche’s Rennsport Reunion VII in Monterey, I’m about 85 per cent wrong. There are still plenty of too-perfect teeth on offer, but this celebration of 75 years of Porsche’s existence is anything but the middle-of-the-road, luxury brand show-off that I half expected.

The first five minutes will have you slack-jawed. This is basically Goodwood Festival of Speed populated entirely by Porsche products, a flat-six Burning Man. Any event that makes a 959 look both humble and commonplace is on a different level entirely – one that has you looking for the best colour of 959 is off the charts. Note to self, Bruce Canepa’s ‘reimagined’ (read: perfected) 959 SC is the poster child’s regrown hero. The rows of modern 911 Cup cars are barely worth eye time, and the strength in depth is what’s most interesting. Porsche people are... eclectic. And so are the cars.