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From Swedespeed.com Events Coverage Each year, Carlisle Productions holds automotive events throughout the summer. Known best for their bi-annual auto jumble, as well as dedicated events for automotive genres like all-Ford, all-GM, all-Chrysler and all-truck, it is the Import Kit/Repica event that might be described most eclectic . It is a home for orphans - brands and genres of cars that normally wouldn’t draw out a big enough crowd in and of themselves to warrant a show of their own on a Carlisle scale.
Orphans they may be, but these tousle-haired brands are not unloved. In fact, the more niche you’d expect them to be, the more they tend to draw a following. When clubs for Saabs and Fieros tend to be some of the biggest attractions, you know you’re in for something you won’t see every day.
What’s that? Fiero you say. That’s neither import nor kit car. No, but many a Fiero gave its ribbed-for-your-pleasure skin so that a designer imposter Italian exoticar could start a new life. Just like the red-headed little orphan Annie, there are more than a few red-headed Fier-arri Testarossas out there for the guys who like to dress up in pastel shirts and white Tommy Bahama suits on weekends and live the Miami Vice dream. Fier-arris may have passed their prime, but their heyday started a trend of drawing out the Fiero supporting cottage industry, and in turn drawing out the actual Fiero fans who are most avid and appreciative of the original body by Pontiac and not a house of mirrors interpretation of a Pinninfarina classic.
As with the Fiero, so go the other normally-niche automotive cults. Audis come in large numbers, an atypically strong showing sans much of any Volkswagen (the two corporate cousins normally shown together in the enthusiast community). BMW and Porsche owners show, but not in as large a number. In the Subaru field, you’re more apt to find a raised vintage Brat than an Impreza, which should be even more of a hint at what you’ll find at Carlisle.
Volvo drew an exceptionally large number this year. Carlisle has always been a good show for Volvo owners, but a perfect storm of additional draws for Volvo enthusiast helped to culminate in a record turnout for the Swedish marque. Gretchen Adams of the Volvo Club of America tells us that Carlisle usually accounts for about seventy cars registered in the club’s name alone. Add to that the draw of one of the club’s East Coast National meets, as the VCOA made Carlisle the date and venue for this event in 2007, which is also good for about seventy or so cars.
In addition to that Volvo brought out part of their own vintage car collection, a grouping that included a 1928 PV4, a PV444 once-owned by Colin Powell, a ’58 PV444, a ’59 Hearst/210 modified body, a PV445 pickup truck and their recently restored super-rare P1900 roadster.
Between Volvo and some local dealers, no less than three not-on-sale-yet C30s were on the field, as were other notables, such as Irv Gordon’s 2-Million-Mile+ 1800, the original 1800 from The Saint television series, several cars from the collection of Swedish Motors in Marietta, PA and a huge smattering of al sorts of vintage Volvo iron.
It would have to be users from forums like TurboBricks, Volvospeed and our own forums here at Swedespeed that helped also contribute to the Volvo showing. No doubt that this year’s Carlisle show sported more modified and tuned Volvos of all ages than ever before. From home-grown like Rob Prince’s 242 drift car to tuner demo such as Heico Sportiv and their C70 and V50 offerings. Numbers of tuned S40s from both generations of the car showed, and no one could miss the large array of 850s and first-generation 70-series cars, most of them cleanly tuned and upgraded.
A highlight of the presence of modded Volvos at Carlisle had to be when others dropped enough money into a jar to see Pennsylvania-native Doug Strickler strap his twin-turbocharged Corvette-motored Volvo 745 (one of many big-displacement transplant RWD Volvos attending) to the on-site dyno, registering a healthy 460-hp with a setup that Strickler suggested was at "low boost".
Bringing the Kit Car theme into the Volvo field, Saturday's display also featured what the owner referred to as a "Votus". With the body of a Lotus Seven, a Volvo B20 engine and even Renault F1 2004 spec coil support, the car embraced both sides of the Carlisle event.
Carlisle always marks the Saab club’s national meet, and GM’s Swedish badge consistently does well here as a result. Supporting the efforts of the enthusiasts, GM’s heritage arm brought out a comprehensive collection of their own Saabs, adding no less than eighteen cars to the already thick Saab show field. Of course, kit cars are also a big part of the Carlisle event, and whole halls on the fairgrounds are dedicated to the specialty car industry. Not just Ferrari-bodied Fieros anymore, more serious replicas of Porsches, Cobras and Lamborghinis tend to be the norm today. Look inside and you’d have likely found new models such as Beck’s new Porsche 904, a 356 Coupe by JPS Motorsports, and even a steel-bodied ’57 Chevy convertible replica by Freese Motorcars. Even the seldom-rare classic Cobra replica had some new faces to show, including one in handsome blue and orange Gulf livery.
One very interesting find was spotted sitting atop a nondescript rented table in the middle of the replica hall. The presentation may have been modest, but the performance potential was anything but. Hartley Enterprises was showing off a 2.8-liter V8 made with Suzuki Hayabusa heads that’ll knock out 400 horsepower peak at 9,500 RPM before hitting its 10,800 RPM redline. Put that in your kit and smoke it. Like most of their events, the Carlisle Import Kit/Replica Nationals span three days. That’s a good thing, as it’ll take you more than a day to see everything, from the show fields and halls, to the rows of vendors, car corral and more. Lucky they offer on-site camping, which can also be spelled P-A-R-T-Y-I-N-G if you’re so inclined.
Orphans they may be, but these cars and this crowd are fine with that. Put them all together, and you have one impressive family gathering open to all types of automotive enthusiast. In particular, it has become a show not to miss for the Volvo enthusiast. Editor's Note: For a gallery of other photos from Carlisle beyond the extensive Swedespeed Volvo-themed gallery linked below, visit Swedespeed's sister website TheCarLounge.
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