Last weekend the Pacific Northwest welcomed a different kind of car show. At the inaugural Avants Classics on the Green guests enjoyed a variety of rare vehicles in the amphitheater at Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville, WA. Despite the heavy mist, hundreds of car enthusiasts and wine connoisseurs flocked to see fine examples of Italian, British, German, French, American, Japanese and even Soviet cars.
“We wanted to bring a little bit of Pebble Beach to the Pacific Northwest,” said Adam Cramer, Avants founder. “I think we succeeded, both in terms of the quality of cars and in summoning the marine layer that is so common on the Monterey Peninsula.”
In addition to the cars, participants were treated to fine wine from Chateau Ste. Michelle, food from The Metropolitan Grill and live music from Birch Pereira & the Gin Joints. While the band took a break, Todd Curtiss from Flying Husky Racing provided a different kind of music when he fired up the French-built 2020 Ligier JS P320 LMP3 prototype racecar. We could listen to that kind of petrol-powered music all day long.
A special feature of the show was the “Art Car”, a Porsche 924 provided by Rhys and Karisa Haydon and prepared by Queen City Auto Rebuild. With paint and brushes provided by Avants, attendees of all ages were encouraged to paint their own designs on the car. The finished product contained a colorful variety of stripes, flowers, rainbows and more.
Some of the standout vehicles included a pair of Zagato-bodied beauties — a 1956 Maserati A6G/2000 Zagato and an Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato Continuation. Another highlight was the 1971 Ferrari 365GTB/4 Daytona coupe that won the inaugural Cannonball Run driven by Dan Gurney and Brock Yates.
As for newer cars (aka “Future Classics”), the 2019 McLaren Senna furnished in bright orange Marlboro livery and the 2003 Ferrari Enzo in classic Rosso Corsa were hard to miss. A Ferrari LaFerrari, Porsche Carrera GT, and Jaguar XJ220 were also in attendance.
Photos by Greg Sweney
Some of the more unusual cars at the event included a Soviet-built Lada Niva, an extremely tiny Fiat 126, a Morgan 3-wheeler, and a Lamborghini LM002 truck/SUV.
A portion of the ticket sales from Sunday’s event benefited Seattle Children’s Hospital. Thank you to Chateau Ste. Michelle for hosting these cars in a one-of-a-kind setting! And thank you to Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty, Hagerty, PayneWest and PURE Insurance for supporting the event.
The event definitely lived up to the Avants “Drive Everything” tagline and the bar has been set very high for next year!
Photos by Karl Noakes
Photos by Jason Tang
Photos by Dave Skulman
