One of my favorite rabbit holes tracking down the original selling dealer when I add a new project to the fleet. I have been incredibly successful for the most part, barring a few vehicles that left no trace of where they were sold new.
The Audi S6 Avant came with the full assortment of original owner's manuals and service stamps from when it was nearly new. The dealership didn't ring any bells to me at first - Holbert's Audi / Porsche / Volkswagen in Warrington, PA - but as I began looking for a dealer plate frame to adorn the rear of the wagon, I realized this was a very cool connection to IMSA and Porsche's factory racing efforts in the U.S.
Al Holbert was the second-generation owner of one of the earliest VW franchises in the U.S. His father, Bob, was an early adopter of air-cooled Porsches as his preferred track car for SCCA events throughout the Northeast. While Bob was a successful racer and driver for none other than Carroll Shelby, it was Al who brought it all together, combining business acumen with true driving talent, making him both a successful dealership owner and championship-winning driver for Porsche. He is still the winningest driver in IMSA history.
From his efforts to bring segment-busting models like the 959 to the U.S. to convincing Porsche to build an ill-fated Indy car, Al Holbert was a force to be reckoned with. His son Todd runs an outstanding Instagram page with regular updates featuring archival footage from the dealership and the track. Tragically, Al was killed in a plane crash in 1988, but his legacy with some of the most iconic racing cars, including the brutal Porsche 962s, will forever live on.
Enjoy this clip from the 1983 running of LeMans, when Holbert's car blew its engine on the final lap and he popped the clutch, jammed it into first, and crossed the finish line at crawling speeds:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWCmNNclG30