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By Michael Marter
Despite sweltering temperatures and humidity capable of melting unsuspecting
Californians, XKs Unlimited Marketing Manager Dave Light and I thoroughly
enjoyed ourselves at the 24th running of the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix,
run through the tree-lined streets of Schenley Park in central Pittsburgh
July 15 and 16.
Given the stately trees, stone walls, curbs and fire hydrants lining the
relatively tight 2.33-mile circuit, the racing is limited to mostly small-bore
machinery, although an aggressively driven XK-140 FHC and an E-Type certainly
didn't seem to be holding much back in their race. With little other than
hay bales to protect the cars and temporary snow fencing to define spectator
areas, this is what racing must have been like when my father and friends
attended
races at places like Torrey Pines and the Santa Barbara Airport in the 1950s
and '60s - back when there was no such thing as "vintage" racing. We should
note that larger-bore machines raced the previous weekend at the BeaveRun
MotorSports complex near Beaver Falls, Penn., during the first weekend of
what is really a ten-day event.
In addition to the racing, the Grand Prix hosts large marque-specific display areas on a public golf course contained within the park, attracting hundreds of collector cars from Ferraris and Porsches to MGs, Triumphs and Mustangs. This gave us the chance to meet many of our customers from an area of the country we obviously don't get many opportunities to visit.
As
Jaguar was the featured marque this year, we decided an XKs Unlimited presence
was definitely in order. While many Californians think our fair state is
the epicenter of all things automotive, we were mightily impressed by the
quantity (well over 100, we'd guess) and quality of the Jaguars present.
From pristine XKs to highly detailed E-Types and all manner of sedans, the
Jaguar owners of greater Pittsburgh are a dedicated and friendly group of
enthusiasts, not to mention gracious hosts.
The Grand Marshal of this year's event was Bibiana "Bibbie" Boerio, Managing
Director of Jaguar Cars Ltd. A native of nearby Latrobe, Penn., Bibbie has
held a number of positions at Ford and assumed the top post at Jaguar in
2004. She's as friendly and approachable as could be, and spent a great
deal
of time posing for pictures with concours winners and other enthusiasts,
many of whom thought the new XK convertible Bibbie was driving for the weekend
was the perfect backdrop.
Speaking of the new XK, this was my first opportunity to thoroughly examine one. While I have a few nits to pick with the styling, there's no question that it is far more aggressive than its predecessor. One pleasant surprise was the exhaust note: it actually has one! I can't wait to see the supercharged "R" version.
The Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix is run by a team of hundreds of volunteers solely to benefit the Autism Society of Pittsburgh and the Allegheny School. XKs Unlimited wishes to thank our hosts and is proud to support the charities that benefit from the Pittsburgh Grand Prix.
