Day Two of the Targa was to be my last day on the tour due
to a family vacation on the docket beginning on Saturday and what a day it was.
The morning began a bit ominously when I wandered over to
the Starbucks across the street from our host hotel and was greeted with the
sight of six Highway Patrol pickup trucks in the parking lot. The officers
manning the trucks were the dreaded commercial inspectors and they were talking
about where to set up for their planned operations. I had visions of intensive
full contact Vehicle Code inspections for all of us Targistas alongside one of
the roads on our planned route.
However, my paranoia was completely unfounded as the trucks
all took off and we began our day free of any unwanted attention. The morning’s
route took us up and around Lake Nacimiento and then across Highway 101 to some
back roads leading to CA-25, which is named “The Airline Highway” possibly because you can get airborne over some of the dips in the road. I fell in with a pretty quick pack of cars behind a beautiful
Irish Green short wheelbase Porsche 912. We eventually
caught up with a big pack of cars that slowed our progress somewhat but the
road was still great fun to drive although the 912 did manage to make a wild
hare on Hare Canyon Road into hasenpfeffer when it darted into the road.
From CA-25, we wound through the back roads west of Gilroy,
which is the garlic capitol of the world judging from the smells wafting into
the car. We eventually ended up in the suburbs west of San Jose and popped on
to Highway 17 near Los Gatos. It was a quick trip up the hill that was made
more entertaining by tailing a VW Thing not from our group which seemed to be
packing a bit of motor.
When we reached Scotts Valley we all exited the highway to
head to the world famous shop, museum, and exotic car dealership of
accomplished racecar driver Bruce Canepa. The complex is located in a 70,000
square foot building that used to house Seagate Technologies but has been
completely reimagined as a paradise for gearheads.
Our tour guide Lou led us around the facility and his
knowledge of the cars and operations was very impressive. We began by taking a
look at the detail bay where cars are finished for their final inspections and
also any new cars that come in for service or restoration are thoroughly
cleaned before they are allowed to enter the beyond sanitary shop work areas.
One car on the lift outside was a minty ’79 Porsche 930 that honestly looked
brand new and made me feel a little bashful about how grungy Dirty had gotten
on this trip. Oh well, she’s a driver and not a show car.
We entered the shop and I nearly fell on the floor when I
saw seven Porsche 959’s in various states of repair. I had only seen one or two
in the wild before and I have been obsessed with them since they came out when
I was just getting my drivers license. They were all stunning and coupled with
two other cars that were elsewhere in the shop that brought the total to nine
cars, which has to be a huge percentage of all the cars in the country at this
point.
Lou then showed us one of the most significant projects in
the shop which is the first Duesenberg ever made. It has belonged to the same
family since new and is now being fully restored to hopefully grace the lawn at
Pebble Beach in August. Most of the parts needed are being handmade in the
fabrication shop just as they would have been when the car was new. Lou also
led us through the paint and assembly area where there was a Mercedes 300SL
taken down to the frame and also a very neat 23-window VW Bus that was getting
treated to 911 brake and suspension bits and will be powered by a Porsche 962
motor. Watch out for a red and tan Transporter heading over Highway 17 as it
will probably pass you fast enough to suck the windows clean out of their
channels.
Our next stop was the dealership showroom where they had
some stunning cars on offer including a lovely red 959, the world’s “most
raced” Porsche 911, and a host of other beautiful cars all in a stunning state
of fettle.
Lou then led us through the Canepa Museum that was full of
significant cars that Bruce either raced or had a special interest in. There
was a Pikes Peak hill climb monster that he nearly won the event with in the
early ‘80’s as well as many other significant cars such as Mark Donohue’s
Penske Javelin, one of the Tyrell Formula 1 six wheelers, Richard Petty’s
NASCAR Torino, and the legendary So-Cal Speed Shop Bonneville coupe.
We finished our tour by checking out the cold storage room
where there was a “Wall of Cars” racked up on one end of the building that
included a Group 44 Jaguar Group C racer, another 959, and a very pristine ’66
VW Beetle.
The day at Canepa ended with an excellent Taco Fiesta that
was delicious and beyond generous in its portions.
From Canepa the group headed down Highway 1 to Monterey for
a hosted reception at Mohr Imports and a drive over Nacimiento Road on
Saturday, but alas I had to hit the road home full of great memories and
already itching for Targa California 2014.
If you have any interest in classic sports cars and seeing
them in motion instead of being wiped down with a cloth diaper on the grass,
you need to find a way to attend this event. Any sort of older sled will do the
job, although something reasonably sporty with make it more fun as most of the
roads are blessed with winding curves that might make you seasick in something
that is too softly suspended. You can contact Dave Bouzaglou at TRE Motorsports
for more information and tips on how to get to the event next year. The Targa was
within ten entries of a sellout this year so make sure to watch the web page at
www.targacalifornia.com so you
can be sure to secure your spot well in advance.
Next weekend will take me to the Long Beach Grand Prix to
see my friends from the Pirelli World Challenge so stay tuned and I will see
you out on the road soon.
