The first RS6 meet was held on Sunday, October 5th. Five RS6.com members met at an abandoned truck stop just off of the Mass Pike (I-90) in Southwestern Massachusetts.
In attendance:
Finnus in a muguello blue RS6 with silver interior
John Hulbrock in a daytona grey RS6 silver interior
Nene in a daytona grey RS6 with silver interior
Speedracer in a Porsche 911 SC - (the RS6 was left at home)
luv2xlr8 Speedracer’s son
Humble beginning certainly, but an excellent start.
Sunday turned out to be a near perfect New England fall day - a mix of clouds and sun, topping out around 62 degrees F (16 C) with low humidity and no rain. Everyone brought a guest who, if not an RS6 enthusiast at the outset, was by the end of the day! We hung around until about noon, shooting the breeze and taking pictures.
We decided to have lunch and, rather than heading North to Vermont as planned, we agreed to head South on Route 7 into Great Barrington, Mass. Taking into account how far everyone had come from.
We parked in a lot for a pizza restaurant, then walked across the street and had an enjoyable lunch, mostly discussing the RS6, performance cars, but also MP3 players, computers, etc. When we returned to our cars, there was a note on a Pizza box on my car windshield. I thought I was going to get a complaint about parking in the pizza restaurant’s lot, but we all got a good laugh instead. The note read, "LOCAL RS6 SAYS HELLO. JUST HAD A M5 FOR LUNCH ON DRIVE UP FROM NATUCKET!" He left his local telephone number so we called and invited him to join us (he couldn’t), but we promised to stay in touch regarding future events. (We invited him to join RS6.com as well.)
After lunch, we headed south on a beautiful drive. It’s pretty hard to go wrong in this area of the Northeast United Sates - in the shadows of the Berkshires and the Appalachian Trail. With the help of Speedracer we chose a route that took us through Southwestern Massachusetts, Northwestern Connecticut, and into upstate New York. We stopped by Speedracer’s mechanic’s shop in Amenia, NY and saw some a couple of ur-quattros, Porsches, rally SAAB and other interesting cars.
When we reached the Taconic Parkway, Speedracer and his son headed back to NY, and Nene, krm, and I headed north. We parted company at I-90.
The speed gods were with us the entire trip. The routes we took were not main ones, so we all had a chance to "play". I passed 8 cops in total (4 during our combined drive) and managed to slip past all of them without incident! I know John Hulbrock and Speedracer had a couple of close calls on the way up as well.
Everyone was generous and there was a lot of "car swapping". John Hulbrock was kind enough to drive into NYC to pick up krm and drive up just so he could meet everyone, hang out for about an hour then returned home to NJ. Nene let krm and Speedracer drive his RS6 and, on the return trip, brought krm into Boston. Speedracer let krm drive the Porsche.
Everyone had a great time and agreed that we would have liked to have more people show up, those who didn’t come missed out & we’re all looking forward to getting together again soon.
Here are some of the other attendees’ comments:
"It really was a great day! Everyone was so engaging and friendly. I finally (thanks to Nene) got to drive an RS6. It was everything I thought it would be but more. Anyone who thinks this car wouldn't make a great daily driver is absolutely nuts! You can laze along as if driving a well-sorted A6 and the step on it and enter hyperspace. With deference to Nene, I took it fairly easy (except when I gave him a ride in my Porsche), but I couldn't help just stepping on it a few times. Wow! The sound is not what I thought it would be. It's not like an American V8 (maybe it's the turbos), but it is one of the most distinctive-sounding cars I have ever heard. I was looking forward to hearing that sound more, but my 911 is louder (inside and outside) than an RS6. Whenever I was behind Finnus and I heard him step on it, I engaged the clutch on my Porsche and coasted, just so I could listen to the sweet sound of his car. The ride is totally comfortable- not at all harsh. I could be very happy with an RS6 as my only car.
By the way, when we were driving up the Taconic behind JH, we couldn't help thinking that, from behind, the RS6 looks like an A6 perched on top of a 911 Turbo. LOL. Thanks to the others for all the rides LUV2XLR8 got in the RS6s and especially to Nene for giving me some closure on the RS6 I never ended up buying.
I have some great places and roads in mind for the next meet although no complaints about this one. Can't wait to do this again!”
/Speedracer
"The event went very well and without any major hiccups. It would have been great to have a slightly larger showing, but this is the first annual NE Fall Foliage drive. We can only get better from this point on.
The route planned last minute was great, and I did not even realize that MA/CT/NY had such nice roads. I'm talking about the pavement of course. Nicely paved, and no potholes in sight.
Thanks to all who made it, and hope to see you all again soon."
/Nene
In closing, the meet really wasn’t about the speed. It was about a group of RS6 enthusiasts getting together and sharing common interests. I think Speedracer’s last comment sums it up for everyone. “Can't wait to do this again!”
