"LeadfootYT" (leadfootyt)
10/15/2014 at 08:45 • Filed to: Car Porn, Tips, Video, PVGP
8
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"LeadfootYT" (leadfootyt)
10/15/2014 at 08:45 • Filed to: Car Porn, Tips, Video, PVGP | 8
| 27 |
Imagine all the vintage racing festivals in the United States. Picture the rolling green hills of Lime Rock, or Watkins Glen, and the steady rumble of vintage engines. Now move that scene to 1.5 miles of city streets in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, complete with off-camber hairpins, stonewalls, and bridges over jaw-dropping gorges — that's PVGP.
Some of you are familiar with my write-ups about the event from my article !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and from my gushing posts at various places online. But as astonishing as the course is in a modern sports car, the thought that the owners of historically significant vintage cars — as almost all the vehicles at PVGP are — run the same course is simply grin-inducing.
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But racing and a gorgeous, thrilling street circuit alone don't make PVGP the spectacular event attendees know it to be. The other element of the event is the presence of car shows totaling over 2,000 cars and hosted by every imaginable club on the hills of Schenley Park's golf course. Here, too, the caliber of vehicles is incredible — everything from a BMW-specific show comparable to some of the major East Coast events to a Subaru-specific section that features some of the most exciting Subaru builds I've seen in a long time.
And of course, the Italian show beside the country club was particularly impressive, hosting (among other cars from Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Lamborghini, and any other Italian — and exotic — manufacturer) an F40, a genuine Ferrari GTO, an Alfa Giulia SS, and a well-used and well-loved Ferrari 330 coupe. The exotic presence also included a 650S, LFA, and various Aventadors; these aren't necessarily my thing, but the fact that they appeared at this event alongside legendary historic racers is at least impressive.
But beyond just the cars, the atmosphere of the event — entirely free for spectators, and run by volunteers with sponsorship money going towards two autism charities — is simply incredible. It's a very welcoming event, and an experience I would entirely recommend, even to someone who (like I did) has to take a ten-hour drive in a 1986 BMW with no air conditioning to get there. Trust me — I was grinning the whole time.
For more videos, articles, and galleries, check out !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , or the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Go to PVGP!
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Ilike_cougars
> LeadfootYT
10/15/2014 at 09:02 |
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I was around the same area, where you shot some of your images, the BMW paddock?
Jobjoris
> LeadfootYT
10/15/2014 at 09:05 |
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Awesome! So is that BMW-specific show just this year or every year? After seeing this footage I think I'm visiting the States next year!
Jesse Shaffer
> LeadfootYT
10/15/2014 at 09:20 |
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That 330...
I concur. This is an awesome event to get to if you're living around Steel City.
Great Video. The only vintage race on city streets in the country, you get in free for being in the city, and the number of cars that turn up is amazing. You won't see an E-type, you'll see eight different versions between coupe and convertible.
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LeadfootYT
> Jobjoris
10/15/2014 at 09:20 |
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The BMW-specific show happens every year, and the Allegheny Chapter BMW CCA is instrumental in the show's creation. The BMW show even features specific models each year, and this year was the E30 — tons of M3s, and even a Touring (one of only a handful in the US) showed up. Plus, Pittsburgh is a really great city, in my opinion, and the landscape is very unique, too.
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LeadfootYT
> Ilike_cougars
10/15/2014 at 09:21 |
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Cool! And yes, that's where I was most of the time!
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Jesse Shaffer
> Jobjoris
10/15/2014 at 09:36 |
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Each year, a different car is selected as the "theme" car. When I went, it was the Mustang, so there were dozens of them...
There are a crap of ton of German and Bavarian cars on that part of the field, though. Spec, old, and high-brow custom Porsche's + BMW's alike.
With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username
> LeadfootYT
10/15/2014 at 09:56 |
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I was fortunate enough to be in Pittsburgh on business in 2011 during the PVGP weekend. The cars on display were phenomenal, but what I remember best and what I cherish most was the sound of the vintage racers. There's something so visceral about little Alfa four-bangers with velocity stacks and straight pipes, redlining as it sweeps past. The class that included 914's and 510's was exciting to watch, too.
William Byrd
> LeadfootYT
10/15/2014 at 10:03 |
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That's excellent. Wife's family is in State College, I would drive up from DC to take a look at that.
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Jobjoris
> LeadfootYT
10/15/2014 at 10:08 |
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Well, if next year they'll features the E6/E10 I'm taking my touring as well!
McMike
> LeadfootYT
10/15/2014 at 10:22 |
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That 330...
I'm assuming you meant the BMW?
mattc993
> LeadfootYT
10/15/2014 at 12:36 |
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I spent the first 18 years of my life in Pittsburgh.
The PVGP is definitely a fond memory.
litespud
> LeadfootYT
10/15/2014 at 13:16 |
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Excellent - I used to take my TR6 to the PVGP as part of British Car Day - big day for the small leaky car community, although the TRs and MGs were very much the poor relations compared to the Big Healeys and the E-types. And I specifically remember that "well used" 330 - I have pics of my girls sitting in it - the owners were very cool about giving people (esp kids) a real hands-on experience.
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litespud
> Jesse Shaffer
10/15/2014 at 13:20 |
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That's not the 330 - that's a 250 GTO or something. IIRC, the owner had two cars there - magnificent, but protected by an invisible force field that lopped off a limb if you got too close of breathed on them
Dusty Ventures
> LeadfootYT
10/15/2014 at 16:47 |
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Next year there's going to be a collection of historic rally cars there as well, including as many as seven World Rally Championship-winning vehicles
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LeadfootYT
> Dusty Ventures
10/15/2014 at 19:00 |
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That solidifies it. I'm claiming PVGP for next summer with the BMW CCA (some people try to avoid having to go to events, so getting to work next year's shouldn't be too hard).
Blondude
> litespud
10/15/2014 at 20:25 |
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He's right, it's a 330 GTO. It's essentially a 250 GTO with the 4.0 liter V12 from a 400 SuperAmerica.
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LeadfootYT
> litespud
10/15/2014 at 20:55 |
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It could very well have been a 330 GTO (and in fact, that would be my guess). There's one that shows up at Lime Rock, and everyone always assumes it's a 250 GTO, but in reality, it's a 330. Most 330 GTOs look almost identical to 250 GTOs anyway, and nothing like the long, riviera-cruising super coupe that the road going 330 was.
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LeadfootYT
> Jesse Shaffer
10/15/2014 at 20:56 |
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Exactly. This year was Mini, though (and there were, in fact, dozens in the parade) — the BMW show just happens to be large enough to allow it to have it's own featured car.
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LeadfootYT
> McMike
10/15/2014 at 20:57 |
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Not sure if this comment is for me or not, but I think the guy who said "That 330..." was referring to the Ferrari 330 GTO.
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Jesse Shaffer
> LeadfootYT
10/15/2014 at 21:15 |
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This is, in fact, the 330. I have video of it firing up, somewhere around here.
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litespud
> Blondude
10/16/2014 at 00:19 |
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Ah, there you go - I didn't know such a 330 existed. Anyway, the 330 that I was talking about - the "well-used" one mentioned in the original post - was a "road-going" version. My original post about it is still in the greys, but the owners had no problem letting folks sit in it and generally poke it - it definitely wasn't a trailer queen
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litespud
> With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username
10/16/2014 at 00:25 |
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the cool thing about the PVGP is that it runs the gamut from beautifully restored gems that probably only see daylight for that weekend, to "fuck originality - how can we make it go faster" racing examples of the same cars. Sitting under a grove of trees, cold beer in hand, looking out over rows and rows of classic cars, with the snarl and smoke of more classic cars racing, wafting over you. Damn, it doesn't get much better!
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McMike
> LeadfootYT
10/16/2014 at 10:56 |
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Something weird happened with Kinja. With the sharing of posts yesterday, I thought you had posted the "330" comment.
There were only three 330s, and they were identical looking to the series 1 cars. Was that a 330GTO? I assumed it was a 250 and the "330" was a typo.
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McMike
> Blondude
10/16/2014 at 11:31 |
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Actually, I think that's a 250
The 330 had a more pronounced bulge in the hood to accommodate the 400.
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McMike
> LeadfootYT
10/16/2014 at 11:33 |
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http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/actually-the-3…
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With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username
> litespud
10/16/2014 at 23:10 |
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And meanwhile, you're having conversations with the Lotus dealer about the MSRP of the Elise S as well as the GM guy about specs of the Cadillac CTS Race chassis, a Triumh TR3 owner about how he built a new wiring harness from scratch, and a Cosworth Mercedes owner about a headgasket change. It's quite unbelievable the amount of things that are going on.
Philbert/Phartnagle
> LeadfootYT
10/21/2014 at 12:15 |
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That's freaking awesome, thanks for sharing!