2014 PVGP: AN AUTOMOTIVE COUP D'ETAT

Every year, thousands of cars and spectators perform a coup d'etat on Pittsburgh's Schenley Park Golf Course in the name of motorsport.

For non-car guys, residents, and overall regular people, this event is, I imagine, a complete nuissance -- as it results in nearly ten days of traffic-jams, road closures, and overall difficulty if you live within a mile of Pittsburgh's Oakland district, which is also home to the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, and the largest concentration of PhD's in western Pennsylvania.

All that aside, the PVGP offers something that you cannot find anywhere else in the United States -- vintage car racing on public, city streets. Pretty cool, huh? We think so too.


For 32 years this event has benefited various local charities to support Autism research and K-12 education. The event has grown tremendously over the last 10 years, now offering nearly two weeks of automotive activities that include rallyes, country road tours, shows, cruises, and road racing (both at Pittsburgh International Race Complex and Schenley Park).

Each year, the PVGP identifies a brand or marque of the year -- this year the honor went to Mini. Like cockroaches with the lights out, Minis of all shapes, sizes, and country of origin flooded nearly every event. On Saturday, the group organized their entrance to the show field and coordinated a nearly 400-strong Mini caravan from downtown Pittsburgh to Schenley Park -- an impressive feat of both logistics and patience.

As Marque of the Year, Mini received prime real estate on the field and the traditional parade lap before Sunday's racing began -- a lap that lasted nearly 15 minutes.

The Main Event

Regardless of its growth, the PVGP has stayed true to its race weekend roots -- offering patrons an enormous and varied car show on Saturday and Sunday, and parking spots (Sunday) on the lawn to watch the race with family, friends, and fellow enthusiasts.

Cars of all types are welcome, giving way to the often stuffy car show atmosphere -- think of cars and coffee on the grandest scale.


Saturday

Traditionally, Saturday is the "official" show offering British, German, Italian, American, and Asian car enthusiasts a chance to co-mingle and talk "stance" vs. unsprung weight. The Swedish guys come too -- they are usually the ones parked next to BMW wearing fanny packs (Disclaimer: Former Saab owner). However, this year was a bit different after significant rain and questionable conditions on the field left volunteers frazzled and entrants frustrated. Many still toughed-out the elements, but others surrendered to mother nature.

The Italians hosted their "Cortile" event as scheduled; though the field was lean, there were still enough prize-worthy cars to keep the judges' attention. Some of the most interesting cars included a couple of Countachs, an F40, and a wonderfully prepped Alfa Spider.

All the while, practice and qualifying sessions continued for competitors and conditions proved difficult, resulting in a few spins.

Sunday
Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day in Pittsburgh and as the weather cleared, cars piled in -- far outshining Saturday's show. A few special cars were in attendance and racing went live at noon, following both the Patron Parking Parade, as well as the Mini Parade mentioned earlier. Over the years, there have been varioius governing bodies and vehicles permitted to race at Schenley. This year, we were happy to see a varied group that included Porsche's, Sunbeam Tiger's, Austin Healey's, and many more -- the diversity keeps things interesting.

Overall, the weekend is a must-see for any car enthusiast. With good people, cool cars, and vintage racing, you can't go wrong. For more information, visit pvgp.org.

Check back for additional photos, in the meantime check out our PVGP Photo Preview.