Earlier this month I visited the Outdoor Automobile Retro Festival at Zhejiang International Circuit in Shaoxing, China. To be honest, I had really low expectations, considering it was just going to be one other business event using automotive culture as a canopy. I’m completely satisfied to say though, I used to be blown away by what I saw.
China may not have the wealthy motoring heritage of america or Europe, but imagine me after I say there’s no shortage of automotive passion here, and it spans all the best way from classic cars to the newest models available on the market.
Older cars are the essential focus of the OCR Festival, but there was a little bit little bit of all the pieces on show and many fun available.
One in every of the essential attractions of the day were the cars parading down the circuit’s front straight. I saw all the pieces from a Jaguar E-Type to an RWB Porsche 993, DeLorean DMC-12 and a Ferrari 348TS.
There was even a race-spec Porsche tractor sporting the enduring ‘Pink Pig’ livery made famous by the 917/20 Le Mans racer.
Other surprises included a Porsche 986 Dakar, a crazy mini trike, and a really creative Mr. Bean Mini replica.
This Porsche 911 Speedster was over from the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, complete with a Umweltplakette environmental sticker on the front windshield and a factory-fitted rally meter inside. This rare model from 1989 featured the widened rear bodywork from the 930 Turbo, plus a fiberglass rear deck and unique shortened glasswork.
Everyone loves the BNR32 Nissan Skyline GT-R, and this instance must be among the finest in China. It’s just had an in depth engine construct with lots of its aftermarket parts sourced from Japan.
But of all of the JDM cars in attendance on the OCR Festival, this Subaru Impreza STi 22B was my favorite. For those who’re wondering why it has two sets of license plates, the automotive was first registered in Hong Kong (yellow plates) after which delivered to mainland China (black plates). With the passage of time, I believe we’ll see more JDM cars traveling between Hong Kong and mainland China.
The ‘Elegant Racing’ sub-event was a highlight of the general day. Much like a time-speed-distance (TSD) rally, two drivers began with an early Le Mans-style running start before driving 500 meters down the front straight. It’s not about who crosses the finish line first, but who crosses the road as near 50 seconds as possible. Some entrants were obsessive about calculating the precise time, while others were just in it for a little bit of fun.
You didn’t need motive power to participate within the OCR Festival, and the soapbox race provided loads of motion.
Something I definitely didn’t expect to see, but was so completely satisfied to, is that this Porsche 934 sculpture by Benedict Radcliffe. The art piece was within the country courtesy of Porsche China.
Together with loads of other cars and motorcycles on display across the circuit, there have been various mobile coffee and burger shops, plus vendors selling all the pieces from vintage shift knobs to custom overalls from Japan.
China’s automotive culture is rapidly growing, and the Outdoor Automobile Retro Festival 2023 gave us a little bit sample of that. It’s a positive phenomenon; watch this space.
Stannum (SN431) Zhang
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