Sunday morning, July 15, 2012 started off slightly overcast, as the Porsche 356 Registry began staging cars for their yearly Concours event, once again held at the Lantern Bay Marriott, overlooking the harbor in Dana Point, California.

By 8 AM, the full range of 356 models gathered had been assembled and aligned in rows on the lawn. After the last 356 had been staged, the remaining Porsches queued up awaiting entry onto the grounds (911s, 912s, 914s, etc.), were allowed onto the lawn and staged just to the west of the 356 Concours display…

Around 9 AM, the judges were called and assembled for their last-minute instructions, at which time they donned their event – issued green polo shirts. Armed with clipboards, scoring sheets and stop watches in hand, they all headed off in teams towards the gleaming rows of Porsche 356s, patiently awaiting their turn to be judged.

The first row of the event had been reserved as a showcase for the days most rare and unique examples of the 356 model. Situated within this row were examples of  4 cam Carrera 2s, in both Coupe and Cabriolet form, a sole example of  the ultra-rare 1952 Glockler Porsche, and several amazing examples of highly modified 356 models, commonly referred to as “outlaws”.

The rare #44, 1952 Glockler-Porsche special; #3 of only three “Glockler special” cars produced as seen below…

Amidst the unaltered 356 model Porsches, were several examples of highly modified Porsche 356s, referred to as “Outlaws”. The title is due in part to the level of modifications / alterations made, and the cars departure from a “100% Stock” configuration.

Now it was time to check out the remaining rows of 356s…

An example of the 1955 Porsche 356  “Continental”coupe as seen below. The Ford Motor Company apparently took exception to Porsches use of the “Continental” name, and as a result, Porsche stopped using the name on its 1956 models.

After making my way through the multiple rows of Porsche 356s, it was time to check out the “other Porsches” that had shown up in support of their 356 siblings…

By 1:30 PM, the judging had been completed,  scores tallied, and the awards presentation began. One by one, as each of the class winners was announced, the winning car and owner would drive up to the front of the show area, where they were presented with their trophies.

The silver 1957 “outlaw” speedster shown below won first place in the “outlaw class”; an even more impressive result given that this event was the cars debut, and very first concours competition…

The class winners from the event on display below, each representing a specific class and model year.

And after observing this impressive gathering of Porsche vehicles, both vintage and newer models, it’s easy to see why Southern California is often referred to as Stuttgart West, as witnessed by the incredible diversity of Porsches found at this event.

(All photos by the author)