Heralded As A "German Auto Experience", This Was The First Outing For The Deutsche Werks Crew And They Pulled Off A Nice Little Event.
Wyoming Valley Motors in Larksville, PA was the venue for the inaugural Deutsche Werks show. It was organized by Club Denial (refugees from Mk3 Massiv), with help from the DubAudi Grppe. Quoting from the website, the goal of the event was to "bring together fans of German automobiles and showcase some of the finest creations this country has to offer... We stress that quality is much more important than quantity. Exhibition space will be limited to less than 100 cars, but we will ensure every vehicle on display is an example of tuning perfection. In addition to the show, we are bringing some of the biggest names in the aftermarket to show off their products."
Fine goals indeed, and reminiscent of similar events I've attended in Europe that aim to exclude the big-winged and badly painted in favor of the best examples of the breed. It's a slightly elitist approach but creates a good show because everything is worth a look, and there's no need to hurry past anything. And if that's not enough, all the proceeds went to a local autism charity.
The event is a car show in its purest sense. There were cars on show, but little else going on. The venue doesn't facilitate drag racing and the other frippery that accompanies most events, so the atmosphere was relaxed and friendly. Those with a thirst for speed may have been able to take a ride in some of the more powerful machinery on display, but that was probably just a rumor. Certainly, Matt Foell wasn't using his 408whp, 424wtq and 13sec at 118mph Jetta VR6 turbo for that purpose, officer...
The aim of the event was to attract machinery from all the premier German manufacturers, and examples of VW, Audi, Porsche and BMWs were all in attendance. However, it was the VW crowd who kicked butt as usual with some impressive machinery. Noteworthy examples included Jose Silva's Mk3 Golf, featuring a supercharged VR6, cage and interesting race-style fuel filler in the top rear quarter panel that fed an ATL fuel cell. All that in the five-door bodyshell, with Audi front door handles, shaved rears as well as Porsche wheels and brakes. Nice job, Jose.
Equally distinctive was Jay Lehrman's Mk3 Jetta VR6. It was beautifully finished in a metallic green with pulled fenders over Compomotive rims. But all of this was forgotten once you saw his checker headliner. How's that for something different?
Then there was Chris Durr's Mk1 Rabbit with VR6 transplant, BBS body kit and old skool interior but some rather hohum Passat rims. He's done a nice job of keeping it period but squint at the photo and imagine it on BBS RS... Ah, maybe not.
We also liked Rafal Sikora's red Mk3 GTI. He's run down the body kit road but carried it off with a slammed ride on Porsche rims and distracted us from the M3 mirrors by venting the front fender. Tasty.
While the commoners parked in the lot, the DubAudi Grppe was treated like royalty inside the showroom. There were all the usual faces, including Craige Ohlstein's overhauled GTI that's gone from two-tone to a solid burgundy color. The owner's having wheel dilemmas and clearly can't make up his mind what to fit. We're not sure if the anthracite OZ at the show were a wise choice. Maybe too understated?
One of the stars of the show was Patrick Cosgrove's "Red Sled" Mk3 GTI. This widebody is now turbo as well. It's been through a pretty extensive overhaul since we featured it back in et 11/04. In fact, he's done enough to merit a return visit, so expect to see it in a few months.
Check out www.deutsche-werks.com for info about the event and news of the next one