Porsche Kit Car Show - Porsches At Play In Paso Robles

If this year's event is any indication, the quaint Central California town of Paso Robles will soon be known for more than producing spectacular wines. It may become the annual meeting place for replicar enthusiasts who fancy Porsche Speedsters, Spyders, and other air-cooled German cars.

Mike Crouch and his wife, Karen, are longstanding Paso Robles residents who enjoy the hobby of growing and producing their own wine. They also have a huge interest in all things Porsche. Mike suggested a couple of years ago that Paso Robles would be an ideal spot to field a Speedster and Spyder replica and air-cooled German cars event, right in the middle of the town at Paso Robles Park. The park is surrounded by retail shops, historic landmark buildings, restaurants, and the Paso Robles Library and Museum, so there are plenty of things to do for the whole family, not just the Porsche-philes. What's more, the area offers some twisty rural roads, perfect for open-top motoring, or for visiting various wineries in the region and letting the Porsche co-pilots, not the drivers, have a taste or two.

The Paso Robles event is more a social gathering of Porsche replica enthusiasts than it is a show. With its low-key, no-awards-presented approach, someone suggested that the gathering was more of a rumor than an event. Mike's idea of having it in Paso led to some other Porsche fan volunteering Mike's time and efforts to produce the event, which he and his wife have done these past two years. The low-key event doesn't even have a formal name. But whatever it lacked in a title, it more than made up for with camaraderie among the Speedster and Spyder replica owners. If you visit the Web site where the rumor receives its only publicity, www.speedsterowners.com, you'll learn when Paso Robles will be hosting Speedsters, Spyders, & German Cars 2008 (for lack of a better name). Until then, check out some of what is rumored to have occurred in 2007 in the following words and photos.

Apart from being a Porsche enthusiast, Mike dabbles in winemaking. He usually produces four barrels a year.		Mark and Ann Patty drove down from Windsor, CA, in their racy '60 718/RS60 replica.
Desirous of really being unique, Erwin Roberto of Cypress, CA, built his JPS '57 Speedster replica to be a righthand drive.		Not all the air-cooled vehicles on display were replicas of Speedsters or Spyders.
Redwood City, CA, dwellers Dick and Roxanne Robinson have a '57 Vintage Speedster 356 powered by an air-cooled 1,776cc mill.	Someone's little boy really liked Jason and Julieen's black Speedster. J&J's Speedster has a 1,915cc-displacement engine.	For over 20 years, Chuck Latty of beautiful Pacific Grove, CA, has owned this '86 Beck 550 Spyder recreation that he built from the ground up and put 42,000 miles on.
SoCal dweller Desi jammed up the coast in short order on show Saturday in his much-modified 356 Speedster.		Steve and Angela Lane of Medford, OR, own an awesome Thunder Ranch 550 Spyder.
Speedsters look fast whether their tops are down or up. Ernie and Ramona McGowan prove it's so with their '02 356.	The cruisers rested for a while at a winery, giving KIT CAR an opportunity to snap some beauty shots.	All day long, Porsche enthusiasts admired the tantalizing, timeless machines.
The Long Beach, CA, community of Belmont Shores is home for Dale and Ruth Heatherington and their whitewall-clad, cream-colored '57 Vintage Speedster 356.