How about a chance to hang out with people who not only love cars, but love to drive them? Oh yeah, and you get to tour some of the most fun, twisty roads in western North Carolina, visiting car museums, car collections, and enjoy some of the greatest restaurants in the area! Tim Suddard and Classic Motorsports magazine continue to offer these experiences and much more. Tim’s son Tom was the tour coordinator and co-host along with Nicole Suddard.
We met at the Renaissance in Asheville the afternoon before the fun started.
Some of us had met at a previous tour and many of us were meeting for the first time.
It was great to meet everyone and we were all excited about the next morning when the first day of the tour would start. Monday morning we assembled in the parking lot which gave us a chance to see all the cars that would be participating in the day’s tour.
About half the cars were Porsches. That was very impressive, especially the years they represented.
Look at these photos to spot the Alpha, the BMW M6, the Mercedes 550
Tom and Tim did the morning driver’s meeting, and prepared us for all being able to use pre-programed GPS from Garmin. That was a stroke of genius on their part. It was a big step up from printed route instructions .
Soon we were on our way through some beautiful roads with great scenery making our way to Chimney Rock State Park.
Once we found our parking spot we took the elevator to the top.
It was a foggy morning…
The weather might have limited the views, but that didn’t mean that there weren’t some great things to see.
We then drove to Lake Lure and were taken on a tour of the lake and learned about its fascinating history. After that we had a wonderful lunch at the Lake Lure Inn where we perused their amazing collection of music machines that play with metal discs.
Our next ride took us to the Prescott Auto Reserve.
We had a tour of the place and got to meet with the technicians that perform many services from ceramic coating to wraps.
Their staff of experts took us through the many processes that they perform.
The Mercedes shown above had this wrap done.
Then we toured the storage facility and saw many vehicles of all types and makes.
We then took off for the hotel via another fantastic route and we all met in the parking lot after six and then walked to a great place for our dinner.
After the next morning’s driver’s meeting we headed off to the BMW Performance Center in South Carolina.
The folks at BMW treated us to some hot laps around their test track in three five series sedans that was awe inspiring. These drivers were professional and took us around the track at high speeds showing off the cars agility and handling prowess. The end of the lap we got on the wet skid pad and were treated to some fancy drifting prior to exiting the track. It was such a treat. Then they fed us before having us tour their Zentrum Museum. It held many of their iconic cars.
But it wasn’t over, because from there we took a short drive to BMW CCA Foundation and were introduced to their facility and collection of primarily BMW motorcycles.
The motorcycles on display were stunning and a tribute to the technology they reflected.
There were even a handful of non-motorcycles…
Our GPS’s took us back to our hotel through more twisty mountain roads and we all met later for dinner at a Brazilian restaurant. The food was fantastic and we all slept well that night.
The next morning we had our drivers meeting and prepared ourselves for more automotive adventure.
That morning we drove to Mount Mitchell State Park and then to Little Switzerland where we had a wonderful lunch. From there we were on our own with directions taking us to Hot Springs and then returning to our hotel where we relaxed from all our driving before we met up with our new automotive friends and walked to one of the many restaurants within short walking distance from the hotel. We all talked, ate, and got to know more about each other.
The next morning after breakfast we met in the parking lot for our last driver’s meeting.
We were off to an amazing museum known as Wheels Through Time in Maggie Valley, NC. The GPS route took us on NC209, known as The Rattler, a lesser known rival to the Tail of the Dragon. The twisty turns gave both driver and passenger a real workout, but it was with a smile on our faces.
Wheels Through Time is an amazing motorcycle museum that should not be missed. Here are a few photos of just what it offers.
As this ‘32 Ford model B dirt track racer shows, it’s not just motorcycles. Everything runs and they even cranked up this racer for us.
Indian motorcycles were made in Massachusetts and were rivals of Harley Davidson.
We had our lunch there outside the museum and then we were heading back through the mountains to the hotel.
It was our last time together and we had another great meal. This time at the Renaissance’s Top of the Plaza. We all had a wonderful time and enjoyed going from table to table giving hugs and making certain to thank our hosts.
Classic Motorsports continues these kind of events through much of the year and if you have the time and inclination you should join in at least one of the tours. I would be surprised if it wasn’t your last.
Here you go.