Das Renn Treffen, also known as DRT, is translated from German to English as The Race Meeting. The event is held in the district of Coral Gables, Miami, Florida. It’s South Florida’s largest gathering of fine Porsche automobiles and just celebrated its fifth straight year. With each subsequent iteration, the event has become progressively more substantial and more extensive. If you love the Porsche brand and the Porsche lifestyle, you’ll likely have major FOMO after seeing what went down during the week of DRT 2020.
Miami is known for its gorgeous white sandy beaches, Art Deco buildings, Cuban coffee, and croquetas, but what makes Miami even more unique is the car culture. Miami’s American muscle scene stems from many of the locals driving their ’55 Chevys back in their native Cuba, but just as popular are the flashy Ferrari, Lamborghini, and McLaren exotics cruising up and down Collins Avenue in South Beach. However, the Porsche culture in Miami is still one of the best because the owners are a reflection of their city’s culture. So you can imagine how passionate they are about the things they love and driving fast cars is what they love to do!
Due to the relaxed nature of Florida’s car laws, importing limited-edition cars from Europe and Japan is quite common after they hit the 25-year mark. So there are plenty of rare birds you won’t find anywhere in the USA except in Florida. These include cars manufactured by the legendary RUF brand, minty and unique specification 911s from Mizwa in Tokyo, and crazy outlaw-modified hot rods making immense power. These are machines that enthusiasts in California can only dream about driving on the streets. On the flip side, every Floridian will follow that up by saying, “but you guys have all the good roads!” So it looks like life wins again by keeping equilibrium at play and making sure no one wins at everything. Ha!
My journey into DRT 2020 started on Monday night as I flew into Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with my assistant and video camera operator, Mike B. As we drove into Miami, we visited Mike’s favorite submarine sandwich spot, La Sanwicherie in South Beach. As we were finishing up our dinner, I received a text from automotive photographer and Miami native, Esteban Larranaga (Esty) who asked if we were down to shoot some cars that night. Esty quickly gathered a 993 RAUH-Welt Begriff (RWB) Porsche owned by @turboralph, a Guards Red 993 owned by @leftsauce, and an E30 M3 owned by @dvnchrstphr. We started in the Design District and drove around to the Port of Miami Tunnel and then ended up at the Wynwood District. Our evening ended at 4:30 am and packed the trip with so much fun right out of the gate!
The following day (later the same day), we visited our friends at Real Muscle Car Miami to check out the company’s inventory of European hot rod cars on hand. They had a great selection of unique 911s coming in and going out, and we ended up shooting a feature of a 964 Turbo in gorgeous Forest Green Metallic paint before heading out to the media event for DRT at Zweck, where media members had the opportunity to check out some of the heavy hitters that were going to be present at the main DRT event. As we arrived, we were greeted by TJ Russell’s Baja 911 and the Rothsport Racing Off-Road 911 at the opening. Inside was Rod Emory’s 356RSR next to the Gunther Werks Greenwich build. Close by, the RUF CTR2 and Singer 964s were in good company. It was a fantastic evening hosted by Al and the team at DRT.
I awoke Thursday morning and headed directly to Homestead Raceway, for the first track event of DRT. With the threat of rain lingering on Friday, there was a fair amount of cars trying to get track time in before any weather flooded the course. There was an abundance of GT3s, as you can imagine since the chassis thrives on days like this. The Barn Miami was there with MGM Porsche, race-variant GT3s, and also giving ride alongs to the brave. I witnessed car lover Andrea Garneata get into a 997 GT3 race car, go for a few rounds on the track, and come back smiling from ear-to-ear.
Porsche had a lineup of the brand new 992 for enthusiasts to test out on the track, along with the Panamera to give potential owners the real experience. Once again, you had a line of delighted, ear-to-ear smiles coming out of every car. The revolving class of off-road 911s was ripping up the track, hauling a lot of speed into every corner. It’s pretty cool to see the dual purpose 911s getting used on both tarmac and muddy terrains.
Saturday morning, the Cars and Coffee gathering was at the prestigious The Collection dealership, home to all of the premium European manufacturers such as Porsche, Ferrari, McLaren, Maserati, and many more. The Collection does not disappoint when it comes to hosting an event. On the ground floor, limited-edition Porsches filled its reaches, with a host of breakfast eats, specialized coffee, and desserts to make guests feel at home. The Collection also had a special invitation event at their shop where attendees could see halo cars like the 918 having work performed. Even the basement became a destination, showcasing where the business stores a majority of its inventory before any of the vehicles’ new owners pick them up. On the street side, owners lined up their pride and joy for onlookers to enjoy with their friends and family. It filled me with pure joy to be a part of the morning’s gathering.
The main event started early Sunday morning, and as you can imagine, the organizers were fast at work at 5 am. By the time I got there at 7 am, long lines had formed, and a distinct air-cooled aroma filled the atmosphere—if you know, you know. Everything from vintage 356 models to modern-day GT2s lined the avenues and were being organized into their designated sections, to be proudly displayed.
One of the biggest spectacles at the setup was Garage26’s entourage of rare yellow gems such as the 964 3.8 RS, 964 C4 Lightweight, 993 RS, Carrera GT, 993 GT2, and 993 Turbo S. What an unbelievable sight! If you know something about the rarity of them, you, too, would be screaming like a little girl. It was also my first time witnessing a 964 C4 Lightweight. If I am not mistaken, it is 1 of only 22 produced.
Zweck had a gorgeous display showing off Drew Coblitz’s new Porsche 911 Reimagined by Singer. It’s a one-off 964 iteration that is much different than anything else the company has created up to this point. Just in front of Drew’s Singer was the mighty Porsche 962 with the nostalgic Miller High Life livery looking powerful in its stance. What an unbelievable machine it was, and with a fantastic racing history to match.
At the center of DRT were some outstanding cars exhibited by sponsors such as RMC and ModFind. An impressive display of air-cooled classics made by RUF or other custom car builders. ModFind’s very own PetFred had his 991.2 GT2RS and 964 3.6 Turbo on display. Just outside the main square was the ever-so-popular 964 and 993 parking—a gorgeous array of modern-day air-cooled examples showing off their best.
The Safari-style 911s were small in numbers but gathered a large crowd due to their unique abilities—and specialized parts—which set them apart from their street and race-built siblings. Rothsport Racing, Russell Built, Leh Keen, and Jimmy Graham’s Safari builds were all present to work as a beautiful collective.
Gunther Werks’ 400R Greenwich was at the head of the concourse display, and it drew a crowd all day. With its debut in Miami, people were flocking to and loving the California-built car. Just behind the 400R was a beautiful white on white Singer looking as classy as they come.
Just around the corner were the G-body variants and what a fantastic display that was present. Every year, Miami’s line up of the late-’70s to late-’80s based 911s is strong and diverse. Everything including Paint-To-Sample (Porsche’s custom factory finished paint option) and modified, or should I say ‘tinkered’ with variants such as Alex’s Khaki Fashion Grey G-body always strike the eye.
Down on Sunset was where all of the water-cooled variants—996, 997, 991, and the new 992 chassis—found their refuge. The RWBs moved up a block from last year’s placement and mixed into the crowd. Loads of Carreras, Turbos, GT3s in every imaginable color filled in the remaining space.
You have heard that people are what makes the community and that cars are the catalyst to bring everyone together. Time and time again, this is proven true no matter where I travel. I think people who are crazy about vehicles are just more passionate about life and are therefore happier. Miami is a prime example of a society that is rich in diversity, passion, and culture. The people at this event were nothing but welcoming, and returning to Miami’s DRT for the second consecutive year has indeed felt like coming home.
I want to thank Al and Jaime, the organizers of Das Renn Treffen, for their continued support and allowing me to be a part of such an incredible week of events. The event only looks to be getting bigger and bigger each year, and I am so very blessed to have put my stamp on it, again. To much more success, everyone!
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