Wheels Blog: Euro Tuner Cars Rally For Cheesesteaks

Nathan Laliberte Jameson Willoughby, a copy machine repair technician from Northern Virginia, eating a Philly cheesesteak on the rear deck of his Lotus Elise.

Last Saturday, I rode shotgun in an all-black BMW M3. Behind the wheel was Andrew Pollock, 26, an engineer from New Jersey, who had allowed me to be his co-pilot for the fourth annual Euro Philly Cheesesteak Run, a road rally that culminated at Tony Luke’s Cheesesteaks in South Philadelphia.

The 40-mile journey began in the parking lot of a Dick’s Sporting Goods in New Jersey. Mr. Pollock, in khaki shorts and a graphic T-shirt, let his left hand dangle loosely over the top of the steering wheel while his right deftly toggled the shift knob. Upon arriving at Tony Luke’s, which is by an I-95 overpass, Mr. Pollock said it would be best to buy a cheesesteak before looking at the hundreds of cool cars in the parking lot. “Better hit up the line now, otherwise you’ll be waiting for hours,” he said.

Tony Luke’s serves what is widely regarded as one of the best cheesesteak sandwiches in town. As is typical at cheesesteak restaurants in Philadelphia, customers must order in a Philly dialect. “Whiz wit” means you want a cheesesteak slathered in Cheez Wiz and topped with diced onions; “whiz widdout” means you want Cheez Whiz but not the onions; provolone is “provi”; peppers are “peps.”

Nathan Laliberte Andrew Pollock’s black BMW was one of the entrants in this year’s Euro Philly Cheesesteak Run.

After ordering a cheesesteak whiz-wit and a mug of Mountain Dew (when in Philly …), I went to the parking lot where participants were eating on their car trunks. The lot was filled with European tuner cars – I counted 120 in total. I talked with several owners about top speeds and 0-60 times. Jameson Willoughby, a copy machine repair technician from northern Virginia (“In five years, I’ve only encountered one copier I couldn’t fix”), huddled over the spoiler of his 2005 Lotus Elise, eating a cheesesteak with peps and whiz.

“The guys at work think I am getting paid too much,” he said, as we discussed the performance specs of his Lotus. “What they don’t know is that I also deliver pizzas at night to support the car habit.”

One man, holding his 6-month-old daughter, said he had recently bought a Recaro baby seat for his customized Audi S4. “She already loves cars,” he said.

Nathan Laliberte About 120 European sports cars showed up for the fourth annual cheesesteak rally last weekend.

A man standing beside a late model Porsche 911 said he had recently beat a Ferrari off the line. “I took the rev-limiter chip out, and now I can smoke just about anything.”

His 9-year-old son, wearing a blue T-shirt with a Porsche logo, was standing next to his father. I asked the boy if he had enjoyed the rally. He smiled and made sweeping motions on his belly and said, “Cheesesteaks! Cheesesteaks!”