A few weeks ago, Chicago residents found themselves amidst a heatwave that felt like 120°F. Staying indoors and using fans and air conditioning to keep cool was highly recommended, and it is advice I’d normally heed. But Checkeditout was scheduled to make its annual return to the city for another Porsche celebration, and going off what I had seen in coverage from previous events, I really couldn’t miss it.
Luckily for me (and everyone else in Chicago, Illinois), on the day of the event the temperature dropped and the cool winds picked up. Time to go Porsche hunting…
At those previous Checkeditout events, ultra-rare Porsche models like the Carrera GT and famous race cars made an appearance, but even though I didn’t see any of those at this year’s event – perhaps something to do with Monterey Car Week happening at the same time – there were still plenty of amazing machines to pore over.
In fact, if you were a true Porsche enthusiast, you could have easily stayed for the whole day and enjoyed the sights of Stuttgart’s finest at the Morgan & Fulton Market location.
Front and center at the main intersection was RWB Nohra. This bright yellow Porsche 993 Cabriolet, pieced together by Nakai-san in California, was definitely the star of the show for me.
You really don’t get a true sense of how wide an RAUH-Welt Begriff car like this is until you see one in person. Everyone wanted to grab a photo.
Not far from the RWB was an F-Model 911T in a delightful color I assume is Porsche Olive (62166).
And wait, is that a one-of-948 Porsche 930 Turbo Flachbau? It was such a nice surprise to see a slant nose in the real world.
I also enjoyed checking out this 993 GT2 Evo, presented in full race trim with slick tires attached. Despite all the wear and tear, the cyan-to-purple, color-flipping paint job still looked pretty nice.
This 992 Sport Classic, painted in PTS Pastel Orange, looked right at home in this picturesque environment.
But it looked enormous when compared to the nearby 914.
Along with more F-Model cars, there were plenty of G-Models too. I don’t think these streets have ever looked so good.
In the last hour of the meet, I met a lovely gentleman in his nineties named Curt Crowell, who was so happy to tell me all about his absolutely stunning 356C Speedster. Curt purchased the car from a race team – sans engine – in March 1963 for $700. He fixed it up and took it racing for many years, but in the early 2000s decided it was time to restore it. The 356 was dipped, the bodywork repaired and replaced where required, and it was repainted silver. You can see the extensive and amazing body restoration here.
In his 60 years with the car, Curt has kept all the original documents, racing photos, and even parts that were replaced. This is what real car love looks like – what an absolute living legend Curt is.
Checkeditout 2023 was awesome. Not only were the cars great – and placed with care and thought in the location by the crew – but all the people I met were easy-going and nice to talk to. You can’t ask for more.
If you’re interested in seeing (and hearing) some of the Porsches roll out of the event, you can watch a video here.
Shawn Zile Huang
Instagram: shawnhuang721
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