Benton Performance at El Mirage Dry Lake Bed.
The best ideas have a good dose of spontaneity in the mix. Last Sunday, the whole Benton crew gathered for an afternoon barbeque. It may have been the jovial atmosphere or the beverages that were flowing, but one thing led to another and someone broached an idea.
The idea was to drive John's Mein12 at El Mirage. Everyone looked at John, who's eyes lit up. Game on!
After a stupidly early wake-up call, we found ourselves on a high-speed cruise heading north. As the sky changed from black to blue, we zipped through mist and fog, before reaching the dty lakebed just before sunrise. The light, the location and the subject came together beautifully and the next two hours were spent photographing what amounts to a white flat-four bullet finding its upper speed limits on the desolate landscape of El Mirage.
You may be wondering what went through our minds to come with this idea. Well, the simple fact is that we have always advocated driving our cars, whether they're beaters, race cars or concours queens. Watching John smile at his dusty 912 at the end of the whole session was all we needed to know it had been worth it.
Cars can get cleaned anytime. The value of those memories created at El Mirage?
Priceless.
Special thanks to Tim Rivera and Joshua Kidder.
