I busied myself with ashing a half-Lucky Strike when the phone rang. On the other end was a dame called 'opportunity'. She was a hard one to turn down, always looking to get into trouble, but with her it was always a good time. "Get on a plane, get yourself to Austin, Texas", she said, "I've got a job for you". I paint myself a skeptic, and the stakes are higher than I'm comfortable with, but the payoff is worth it.

Trying to keep my calm I say, "Oh yeah? What's the job?". As it happens some German miscreant has absconded with two of the new 718's pistons and with them have gone perhaps some of its verve. She wants me to question some folks, to get the whos and whys of the situation. In return I'm promised a day with what could be the best sports cars Germany can churn out, and a day poking around one of the most impressive automobile racing facilities in the world, let alone America. When Porsche beckons, you don't keep her waiting.

A couple of weeks ago we got a message from Michelin asking if we'd like to judge on their behalf during the PCA's WERKS Reunion Porsche concours, a pretty big part of Monterey Car Week. Ready for any challenge, of course we said we'd be honored to do so. Michelin Tires is one of the main sponsors of WERKS [and here at FLATSIXES.com], and as such the event organizers have a trophy every year called the Michelin Choice Award. Rather than award the trophy themselves, Michelin prefers to bring someone in to act as a "celebrity judge" on their behalf. Having recently gone to Le Mans with Michelin, they knew how Porsche crazy we are, and that we'd do a good job of selecting the proper car for the award. Our only guideline was to select a Porsche that 'embodies passion and driving enjoyment' and it must be wearing Michelin tires. Here's the Porsche we picked and why. 

Last year at Le Mans, Porsche unveiled a sculpture that was half Porsche 911 RSR race car and half LEGO sculpture. It was a really interesting piece, and it made the rounds to a few events, including Rennsport Reunion. This year, a similar sculpture has been crafted, but this time out of a 919 Hybrid LMP1 car. How many LEGO bricks did it take to build? How many Master Builders participated? Why was its debut delayed? How much do all those LEGO bricks weigh anyway? We answer those questions and more in this post.