PARADE 2021

VIR Member & PCA Parade Committee member Keith Glover

Dispatch from Parade 2021

The debate continues. PDK versus manual. Which is better? This debate will continue well beyond the last manual 911, however the answer is simple, there is no right answer. I love my PDK and would not have my Boxster GTS without its manual gearbox. Porsche Parade is the perfect forum for all things Porsche and the multitude of watering holes, the perfect back drop for solving the unsolvable, PDK or manual? The 997 Club Coupe brought by Porsche is a manual! Has Porsche spoken? Ha! Number 1 was produced with a manual. Porsche likes both!

Porsche Parade 2021 is now in the books. Second only to the 2014 Monterey Parade in the number of participants, 2021 Parade at French Lick Indiana was very well attended. Without COVID-19 related restrictions, French Lick would likely have been the biggest Parade ever! Initially, 200 Canadians were registered. Unfortunately, all but one Canadian (me) understandably stayed home. Had the Canadian contingent been able to be at Parade, this year might have become the biggest of all time.

The schedule of events at Parade progresses from Concours to Rally to Tours to Autocross to the Gimmick Rally, then Tech Academy and wrapped up by the Parade of Porsches. The site of 500 plus Porsches from 8 decades stirs one’s emotions and is a fitting wrap-up event for a busy week of fun with Porsches. The sight of two Porsche 550 Spyders, sitting side-byside on display was amazing. Porsche only built 100 of these cars with their four cam engines placed in front of the rear axle. To see them driven, rare, but these owners did. The sound of a Porsche 550 4 cam will stick with you forever. Nowhere but Parade can you watch a fully restored Porsche 914-6 place third in Concours on Monday and then head off in the Tuesday morning mist on the TSD rally to come home in 5th place overall in the unequipped group. Have you ever attended a Gimmick Rally that ends at a Drive-in theatre where they played Steve McQueen’s master piece Le Mans? Memorable. Where else can you participate in a Porsche drive that includes a 40hp 356 and a 700hp GT2? Parade is a special event for Porsche people, and different from many car events, Parade emphasizes participation along with your favourite Porsche.

This year’s edition of Parade was, as you might expect, a bit different than previous years. Access to the resort facilities was controlled so to limit access to the facility to “Paraders” only. Social distancing practices were employed for our safety. Though fully vaccinated, I limited my participation to my duties at Parade and that as a socially distanced observer. I skipped the banquets and without my trusty Porsche, skipped the road events, so for me Parade, was not the same. Or the same without all the Canadians. Perhaps next year.