Two Reviews: 2002 Northeast Audi Aftermarket Event

This year’s event was the 4th such event of it’s kind held for the third consecutive year at Ira Porsche/Audi in Danvers, MA. The dealership has always been enthusiastic about hosting our event. The easy access and nearby amenities provide for a great location.

Three weeks post Waterfest, probably the second largest Audi event in the U.S., our show continues to be the premier Audi exclusive event of it’s kind. Both in it’s feel and clientelle, it continues to be, to our wishes, distinctly different from Waterfest. The action began Friday evening at the New England Dragway in Epping, NH. Temps had cooled down a little from the week of high 90’s and we were looking for some great runs. As expected, Silver Bullet and Blitz dominated the field. Blitz’s car is a great tribute to what can be accomplihed with a KO3 motor. It was simply a blast to see such a line-up of Audis.

One of the highlights of the evening was the showdown between Silver Bullet and a friend of mine with a Nitrous’d Dodge Viper. The Viper won in the end, but I was amazed at how good an early jump, the S4 got at the beginning of the run. I’m sure the Viper was surprised as well. Post Epping, there was also some spectacular highway activity which I will refrain from discussing on a public forum. The hub of activity was at the Peabody, Marriott hotel where many gathered for drinks and socialization after the drag event.

Saturday morning came quickly. Things happened so fast that day that I don’t even know where to begin. The were spectacular and Unique Audis to be seen that day. What is most special in my mind is just how much we are all into our cars. Sometimes it’s the littlest details that make for the most unique and memorable mods. Most of the major aftermarket tuners were there. All in all, 540 Audis showed up. I’m not sure of the head count, but there was a nice steady flow of people through the day. Weather was perfect. It never got out-of-control busy and the parking seemed to flow well.

We gathered Saturday evening for the Beach Cruise to Hampton Beach. What a sight to see about 100 tuned up Audis taking up four lanes on an intersate highway. Once again, we drew a huige crowd as we descended on the “strip” at Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, on a perfect clear Summer evening. The event over the past few years has come into it’s own and has, I believe, become a much anticipated happening for the entire Audi community in the Eastern U.S. We will continue to improve this already great show both in terms of quality and content. As good as 2002 was, wait ’til you all see what is in store for 2003. The Oktoberfest Drive will be coming soon. Don’t miss it. See you all soon.

No one had any idea what to expect this year, but we knew it was going to be big – and big it was! There were well over 400 cars registered and 25 plus vendors confirmed. A 80 foot tent was added for the vendors to setup under as well as the whole service department. Ira Audi even supplied Dunkin’ Donuts for everyone, it was going to be a day to remember!

Before any of that could happen there was a drag racing pre-event. Friday night at 5:00 was the time and New England Dragway in Epping, NH was the place. Entering the parking lot I was greeted with the sight of Audis filling up with race gas. After that it was off to the tech inspection and finally the races! New England Dragway even setup a seperate staging lanes for the Audis so we could run against each other. By the end of the night there were about 40-50 Audis dragging, which is definitely a sight you don¹t see every day. I think it was worth it just to see the reaction from the crowd since we were, afterall, in big block country. Sadly the track closes at 10:00 sharp, but on the positive side no one had any serious malfunctions. Everyone then headed back to prepare for the event Saturday morning.

For the 4th year, the Audi Gods were smiling on the Northeast Aftermarket Event. The weather was perfect for the Friday night drag races at the New England Dragway and the main event at Ira Audi was even better! I don¹t think we could have bought better weather.

Even though the show started at 10:00 am on Saturday morning there were people showing up at 9:00! So many people showed up that by 11:00 we were running out of parking. People were lined up the entrance road to the dealership as well as the neighboring dealerships. It was amazing to see that many enthusiasts in one spot and there was even a nice turnout of classic Audis. It was especially nice to see a couple of UR-q’s in the lot since they are a big part of our roots.

There were also a slew of vendors from all around the country, some were chipping, others selling turbos, suspension and all the latest eye candy and go-fast parts. The vendors included Achtuning, APR, AWE, Adrenalin Motor Sports, AudiWorld, Autospeed, Avalon Motor Sports, Audi Car Club of America (quattro Club), Autofanatics, Bentley Publishers, Boston Audi Tuning/MTM, Dent Wizard, Eurotuner Magazine, GGBaily.com, Innovative Turbo Systems, Neuspeed, PES, Ross-Tech, Shine Racing Service, Stratmosphere, European Car and GermanCarFans.com. Sorry if I missed anyone. There was definitely energy in the air!

The show went on until 3:00 when we raffled off a bunch of prizes donated by the vendors. After the raffle things cleared up a
little and people were off getting ready for the cruise to Hampton Beach.

We had expected the turnout to be about 50-60 cars, but we were way off. One person lost count after 125 cars and there were rumors of over 200 cars! All I can say as there were A LOT of Audis on the cruise. We kept getting the same questions, “Are you a gang?” or “Is this a convention?” or “WOW! I¹ve never seen this many Audis!” Everyone on the strip was dunbfounded, it was a great thing to see and almost gave me goosebumps. After waiting in a bunch of traffic (no doubt caused by us) we made it to our destination. Cruisers socialized in the parking lot ’til it started getting dark, then everyone split into smaller groups and made their way to the strip for dinner.

Overall it was a fantastic event and next year will only be better.