What Porsche 911 owner hasn’t dreamed of putting a set of BBS wheels on his or her car, given this brand of wheels presence on so many of Porsches championship winning race cars. And what better vehicle to have for running a set of centerlock, BBS GT3 cup wheels wrapped in Michelin race rubber, than a black Porsche GT3RS…

In talking with the owner, I learned that his GT3RS would be making a trip out to the Willow Springs Raceway on the following Monday for a track day, and would be wearing its new BBS “track shoes”…

And parked next to the GT3 RS was this brand new red, 2013 Porsche type 991, 911 Carrera S…

complete with the Aerokit cup option; a performance inspired front spoiler and fixed rear wing  ( a smaller version of the rear wing found on the newly introduced Porsche GT3).

Rolling on 20 inch sport wheels…

Parked just across the aisle over on Porsche row, was this occasional visitor to Cars&Coffee; the highly modified, pastel blue 1971 Porsche  911T,  equipped up front with enough added candle power to light up any road once the sun goes down…

Even the rear portion of the hood mounted, fog lights housings were painted to match the pastel blue body color. The stock appearing wheels were also modified; billet centers were created to mimic the look of the original, base level steel wheels Porsche offered during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. However, these new wheels were designed with sufficient backspacing to not only accommodate the larger than stock brake calipers and wider tires, but eliminated the need for the owner to alter the stock fenders in order to run the new wider wheels and tires.

Located further up on Porsche row was this freshly restored, new fresh face in attendance; the beautiful, black 1973 Porsche 911E as seen below…

A beautiful car that could pass for brand new, and sporting a very unique interior;  full leather in the two-tone combination of green and black. This color combination may appear odd at first, but was one that really impressed me the more I looked at it…

Even the 2.4 liter 911E spec motor out back was spotless and appeared showroom fresh, with the underside of the rear deck lid revealing the drive mechanism and housing with its mounting bracket for the rarely seen, factory optional rear window wiper.

Parked perpendicular to Porsche row, was another trio of fresh faces to cars&coffee; a viper green Audi R8, a silver Porsche 911 Carrera, and an orange Porsche 911 Carrera RS recreation.

And located just several cars away to the right of this trio, was this grand prix white with blood orange striped, 1967 Porsche 911R tribute, making its second appearance at cars&coffee (below)…

What’s so cool about this 911R tribute, is that the owner used one of Porsches original 911R’s as the blueprint for building and detailing this car. Even more impressive is that the owner produced all of the fiberglass parts himself; from the front fenders with their 911R specific flare (below), to the front hood, rear decklid, rear tail light lenses, and all of the  fiberglass shrouding found on the motor. He even designed the water shields with integral carburetor venturi, lower heat shields, as well as the housing to protect the electronics within in the engine compartment.

The 911R treatment was also carried over to the wheels and hubs, with longer length wheel studs, and the cad plated steel, open-ended lug nuts, on what appeared to be a set of deep six , 5 spoke alloy wheels…

Even the front trunk received the R treatment, with a fiberglass lid created for the smugglers box, and the inclusion of a custom fabricated, steel 100 liter fuel tank, incorporating a center fuel filler with gasketed collar and drain, race inspired gas cap, and a period correct strut bar.

A detail of the underside of the fiberglass front hood, complete with the glassed in balsa wood battens for added strength just as the factory had done. The owner shared that he even went as far as sourcing the same type of fiberglass cloth  (for weave and weight) as that used by Porsche on the original 911R’s. And just like the original factory cars, the underside of the hood and rear decklid were left unpainted…

More of the owners handiwork; the fiberglass motor / fan shroud, the carburetor venturi/water shields and lower heat shields, as well as the protective cover for the electronics; all eye candy for the 3.0 liter, high horsepower Porsche boxer six motor.

Even the rear license panel with integral bumpers and the under fender extensions were produced in fiberglass by the owner. And instead of simply purchasing a set of the 911R inspired rear tail light assemblies, he decided to create his own colored lenses. (For additional photos and information regarding this car, please use this link to access one of my recent posts).

By now the crowds had begun to thin, so as I was heading back to my car, I was intercepted by a friend who asked what I thought of the red Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione? I told him that I had not seen the car and asked where it was parked.  It turned out the car had been hidden away, out on the very last row,  in the back corner. So after thanking him for the information, I hurried off to see if the car was still there. Fortunately, as I approached the block wall that divides the rear parking area from the loading dock, I could see what appeared to be a lone, red Alfa Romeo still drawing interested parties.

As I began photographing the car, the owner who was standing off to the side, shared some of the back story of his car with those of us present.

We learned that the coupe version of the 8C was built between 2007 and 2009 for a global market, with the first american market vehicles being imported in 2008, carrying a sticker price of $259,000 for the coupe, and roughly $300,000 for the roadster version.  During the 2 plus years of production, only 500 examples of the 8C were produced. We also learned that the body shell was made of carbon fiber, and then mated to a steel chassis, with final assembly taking place at the Maserati factory in Modena, Italy.

Power comes from a 444 horsepower, 4.7 liter V8, assembled by the folks at Ferrari, with the drive transferred to the rear wheels via a six speed transaxle gearbox , actuated by  paddle shifters mounted behind the steering wheel. Also included within the drivetrain was a limited slip differential.

A detail of the 4 leaf clover logo inspired wheels, rolling on specially designed 20 inch tires…

A boomerang inspired, mesh side vent and turn signal, set into each front fender…

Now that spring has arrived, I would suspect that there will be an influx on new fresh faces making their debuts at cars&coffee. And if the past several weeks are any indication, spring and summer promise to reveal some amazing cars…

(All photos by the author)