Ever since COVID the number of organized car shows has been increasing at a rapid rate. Not a new or novel concept, but events like the original Katie’s Cars & Coffee (founded in the DMV area) changed the way younger enthusiasts think about car shows.
Up until this point, parking my Beetle Turbo S in the paddock at whatever track event we were attending that weekend, was my kind of car show. Naturally there was always our annual pilgrimage to the DC “dealer” Auto Show (a tradition that started with departed GTM clubhouse member: Matt Yip), or driving by and seeing a random parking lot full of classics on my way to do something else, that was the closest I’d ever been to entering one of these types of enthusiast events.
But every now and again, there’s that one email that gets your attention, like… “OK… this could be the one”, the one – that gets me out to the garage to polish up the car and show it off.
My car was originally “Tornado Red” from the factory, and it stayed that way for the better part of 30 years. The factory un-clear coated enamel paint was difficult to maintain, and a few years ago, I’d decided that it was time to freshen up the paint. I opted to repaint the car a factory color called “Titian Red” which was predominantly available on the Quattro (UrQ) versions of the Audi Coupe.
It’s a hard color to describe compared to the Tornado Red, it changes depending on the light and throws a gold metallic undertone. I took advantage of some great late summer weather and spent a couple of days getting the car ready in my garage using an assortment of Zymol products from my brother’s collection.
I didn’t have the oldest car there, but I did have (in my opinion) one of the more unique cars on display. With only 35k Audi Coupe GTs sold in the US from 1981-1987 it’s a pretty rare car, with fewer and fewer on the road every year. And even though I didn’t have delusions of coming in first place – those honors went to cars like the Corvair Pickup, Firebird Trans-Am, and Gen-4 Toyota Supra – it was still an honor to be nominated!
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