Finding Gold

Member Feature Stan Pearlman Pam Behar

by Mark Johnson by Mark Johnson

Turning 87 years old in 2022 means you’ve been around a good long time. Having lived within the Porsche community since you were 30 equates to a sum of 57 years of “a Porsche way of life”! Stan Pearlman is that man, and he is considered the most senior living member of Gold Coast Region of the Porsche Club of America. Born in 1935 and raised in Miami Beach, Stan graduated from Miami Beach High School in 1953. He is an accomplished athlete, having captained the MBHS football team as a quarterback in his senior year. While Beach High was small by standards at that time, they punched well above their weight limit against the larger schools in the Miami area. In his senior year, Stan played offense and defense—i.e., both ways—and was selected for the Greater Miami All-City First Team Offense and Second Team Defense by the local newspaper. By the way, he dated the captain of the cheerleader squad. They were both captains, so it worked. More about that later. After graduation from Beach in ’53, Stan moved from football to a second passion, water skiing! At 13 he had taken up the sport and during times on the water he began to learn, then master, the six-foot ski jump. It took quite a bit of practice and determination, as on the first attempt at the jump he became disorientated in the air, dove into the water, and broke his nose. Eventually, with dedicated effort he took first place in the Junior Division at the Greater Miami Water Skiing competition. He moved on to teach water skiing and was soon invited to join the Cypress Gardens Water Ski Show in Winter Haven, FL. He was showcased in ski jumping, slalom skiing, and the very difficult barefoot events. At 18 years old he skied everywhere and often. Following his freshman year at the University of Florida, Stan was invited to join the Chicago-based Tommy Bartlett Water Ski Show. The Tommy Bartlett show toured the Midwest for eight weeks, visiting various cities and performing four shows each weekend. It was two cars, one pulling the ski boat, the other pulling the 6’ jump, and a van pulling three additional smaller “jump” boats. The Tommy Bartlett Show was a water skiing “barnstorming” crew visiting many of the small and medium-size Midwestern towns, almost any place with a lake big enough to hold boats and skiers. Stan graduated from UF in 1957 with a degree in communications. He sold advertising for a Miami newspaper and for the Greater Miami Visitors Guide. With a few years of advertising sales under his belt, Stan moved from Miami to New York City. It would be the first of three round trips between Miami Beach and New York City over the next several years. During his first foray in NYC, he started his third passion and became owner of a 1962 Chevrolet Corvette. It was a fun but somewhat impractical car for the city, so he sold the Corvette. After the sale of the ‘Vette and at 30 years old, Stan Pearlman acquired his first Porsche, and the real fun began! This car ignited a new passion for Porsche autos, starting his 57-year-long affair with the brand. The 1965 356C was purchased from a dealer on Long Island. The 356 was

The first Porsche was acquired in 2003, fresh and different. Stan found the car a joy a Basalt Black Cayenne. This vehicle to drive, full of performance and capable of jump-started a commitment to the brand being driven hard. He joined the Porsche for the past nineteen years and has led Club of America region out on Long Island. to the ownership of over ten Porsche On the Island, he learned of “autocrossing.” automobiles. Beyond multiple Cayennes, In his first event he finished 13th out of 14 there have been six 911 models, including participants in his class. Autocross with the current GT3 and a 930 Turbo. PCA was thrilling and captivating for this However, it is with a classic 356C Cabrio 30-year-old. in Irish Green where this story really begins. It is Pam’s, and her favorite car! In learning about autocross, Stan found the three key attributes which were Pamela “Pam” Behar has been married to her husband, Howie, for nearly 27 years. They are empty nest parents with two sons. In May, their oldest son Cameron (22), will graduate with his BS in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan. He will start on a Master’s program at Michigan this fall. Their second son, Kyle (19) is pursuing his degree at the University of Florida, majoring in Sustainability and the Built Environment. Pam and Howie currently reside in the Town of Surfside in MiamiDade along the Atlantic Ocean. She is the Surfside Outreach Coordinator for required for success: great tires, controlled speed, and experience. Tires can be purchased, but speed–being fast–is improved through practice. We expect that slalom water skiing gave Stan a great leg up on the competition. Water skiing requires hand-eye-foot coordination, balance, vision, plus anticipation and timing to get around the course quickly. These are virtually the same attributes needed to traverse an autocross course. The 356C was fast, and with the right tires and experience, the speed around the course improved. After a few quick years in the Big Apple, Stan moved back to Miami Beach in 1966 with his 356C. In Miami Beach, he transferred his PCA membership to the recently formed Gold Coast Region of PCA. The region was in its third year at that point but was already finding success with the many quality Porsche folks in South Florida. Walt Lohmann was President of GCR at the time. With Walt’s encouragement and that of other members, Stan improved his performance with the 356 in learning the finer points of autocross. Attending with several Gold Coast Region members Stan Pearlman traveled to Porsche Parade in 1967. The ’67 Parade was hosted by the Potomac Region in Arlington, VA. This Arlington Parade offered Stan his first experience in a Concours events. Concours would provide a challenging stationary event to complement his substantially improved driving skills in autocross.

the Children’s Bereavement Center and Miami Beach Holocaust Memorial Docent. Originally from New York, she moved to Florida when she was ten. As empty nesters the couple have embraced the full Porsche Experience. A prime example of their immersion is their “cover dog” Speedster, a two-anda-half-year-old Mini Golden Doodle made famous on the cover of the July 2021 issue of Die Porsche Kassette with the feature story, “Pets and Porsches.” Speedster was pictured sitting dutifully in front of the Irish Green 356C.

Pam and Howie took a trip in 2013 to Germany and Austria. During this visit they spent two days in Stuttgart. Yes, of course they visited the Porsche Museum and factory. They learned the history of Porsche, including the complete story regarding the fifty-year anniversary of the 911. The museum blew them both away. Howie and their sons gravitated towards the Le Mans winning race cars, the 959s and the GT1s, plus other rare 911 models. Pam on the Stan Pearlman on the slalom ski!other hand could not stop staring at the classic 356 models and fell in love a second time! Her first love was Howie, of course. Howie, being observant as he is and a loving husband, started a hunt for a

Pam & Howard Behar with the Irish Green 356C and First Place Ribbon at the Motorcar Cavalcade 2022.

milestone birthday gift. He began looking for the perfect 356 in a unique color, and it had to be a cabriolet. Eventually, he located the Irish Green C in California, complete with original books, tools, original purchase invoice, Certificate of Authenticity from Porsche, and over fifty years of maintenance records. They learned through the Porsche Registry that this specific 356 was number 28 of the last “bathtub” Porsches ever produced. What a birthday gift! Pam named the 356C “Penelope.” Looking back, Pam suggested that it was a very good thing that her father taught her to drive a manual transmission vehicle while she was in college. The 1965 356C was built long before the PDK transmission was ever invented. The Irish 356C is a multiple awardwinning 1965 Porsche Cabriolet, taking a Blue Ribbon First Place in the recent Concours event at the Marriott Turnberry Isle resort. Pam loves to attend all the various concours events throughout Florida, including the Boca Concours D’ Elegance, WERKS Reunion, Palm Beach Concours, Miami Concours, Porsches by the Bay, and the Motorcar Cavalcade. Beyond the myriad of shows they attend Pam, Howie and Speedster also enjoy frequent toad trips with their PCar gang. They have traveled with GCR and others to Boone and Asheville, NC, Charleston, SC and to Savannah, GA. The ultimate goal of the Behars is to drive their 930 Turbo to California for a trip along the Pacific Coast Highway from Carmel to LA. Let us know when you plan that one; you might get a few of us to go with in our own Porsches. It would be an awesome Porsche rally, out and back, nose to tail along the PCH! Among the ten-plus Porsches they have owned, another fantastic experience occurred with their 2018 GT3.

Behar Family doing their “jump”!

Pam and Howie selected a delivery of this vehicle at the Porsche Experience Center (PEC) in Atlanta. The delivery celebration began with an overnight experience in the Porsche Hotel next to the PEC. Excited, but with no clue of the plans for the GT3 delivery, it became an amazing day for the family. The PEC folks provide a guided tour through the facility and museum on the site, a side trip through the race simulators for the boys and an amazing lunch at Restaurant 356 overlooking the PEC track. According to Pam , they were treated like rock stars!

Ultimately, the best part of the day was the unveiling of their new 2018 911 GT3 in Guards Red. This 911 is a 991.2 model grade with a six-speed manual transmission, equipped with a 4.0 liter flat-six, offering up 500 horsepower. The vehicle is a beast—pull the cover off already! Following the immediate gasp for air, both Pam and Howie were each allowed a 45-minute-long track session. Individually, Pam and Howard drove the PEC road course with a professional instructor onboard, each to enjoy – push – play – and familiarize themselves with their new 911 GT3. Both Cameron and Kyle were surprised with the hot laps around the track. Quite a full and exciting day for certain.

Pam prefers that they keep their Porsche vehicles as stock, straight as they come from the factory. However, she does have a classic Nardi Mahogany rimmed steering wheel on the Penelope, while the 930 Turbo sports a Momo Prototipo steering wheel. Simple, classy upgrades.

When asked to select her favorite Porsche, Pam quickly responds that it is the Irish Green 356C. It is truly a spectacular car. However, she is also partial to the 550 Spyder as seen on trips to Naples and Revs Institute.

Their other PCar interests include local GCR rallies, and multi-day drives to the mountains. They had a good bit of fun on the GCR Christmas Mystery Poker Rally. During the gathering and start at ParkHaus, we were treated to a look at the 930 Turbo, which happened to be at the shop for a tune. They have been Gold Coast Region members since 2003 when that first Cayenne was acquired. Pam’s daily driver is her 2013 White Cayenne GTS, exhibiting over 100K miles on the odometer.

When looking for Pam and Howie, the first places to see them will be the concours events around South Florida. Next, will be a few of the Cars & Coffee locations, or an occasional Thursday evening out in Miami-Ft. Lauderdale with their running buddies. They would like to plan trips to both Rennsport and Luftgekühlt, and perhaps Porsche Parade in the coming years. Irrespective of where you look for them, perhaps the easiest way to identify them will be by finding Speedster, the Golden Doodle. Pam or Howie will be at the other end of his leash! Most likely they won’t be too far from Penelope either.