RADwood Philly – Transporting Back in Time
By: Louli Kourkounakis
It’s a warm sunny Friday morning as you throw on your cutoff jeans, tie-dye crop top, and throw your hair up in a high ponytail with your scrunchie. The only thing on your mind as you grabbed your Walkman to head out the door was hoping you would get a copy of the latest new release from Blockbuster tonight! You hop in your Audi quattro and head out for the day….ahh the 80’s and 90’s; what a nostalgic time. For anyone looking to relieve the era by relishing in all the cars of this time, there’s always RADwood! From the team over at Hagerty, “RADwood is a festival of ‘80s and ‘90s automotive lifestyle that seems to be aimed smack dab at Generation X or anyone else who saw the time as totally “rad”. The car show that blends period dress with automotive awesomeness including cars, trucks, and bikes from 1980-1999 and capturing the essence of a bodacious era. “
RADwood currently has seven locations slated on their tour across the country. On May 21st they graced the Philadelphia area with their presence. Audi Club was there in force, shoehorning RADwood Philly held at the home of the Philadelphia Union MLS team into its Vintage to Voltage weekend (more on p. 60). Even better, the Audi display featured some pretty sweet age-appropriate rides including the 1985 “ur” quattro sweepstakes car. If you haven’t picked up your tickets to win this box-flared beauty, definitely do!
Josh Paashaus from Nothing Leaves Stock joined the fun with his 1985 Audi 4000 Cannonball Run Edition that had just completed One Lap America. Another One Lap of America attendee was on the stand with us as well, in a custom 07K 5-cylinder turbocharged Berg Cup Volkswagen Golf Mk1 owned by Esher Lutzo of MK1 Madness . Also on the stand was another totally rad, mint condition C2 5000 owned by Hans and Ina Strube. Other rad-era cars included a late 90s TT Roadster (It was Louli’s – ed.) and an immaculate Emerald Green Metallic S6 Avant that came from New York that the owner, Mike, spared no attention to detail on this OEM+ model of perfection.
There were of course many other RAD cars in attendance. These included a totally tubular tribute to Super Mario. There was a couple who had brought an immaculately maintained CRX and Integra Type R, a showroom new-looking Subaru Brat with seating in the bed, and other impeccably preserved cars ranging from the once mundane like a Dodge Neon to JDM including a Subaru Impreza 22B, and the exotic like a Bentley Turbo R. If the cars weren’t enough to transport you back to simpler times, there were also many attendees in period appropriate attire. The winner of that award was spotted rocking some old school wide-leg JNCO jeans! RADwood is definitely an event worth checking out if you have an interest in some of the not so old “youngtimer” classics and can appreciate cars of all brands, not just those with four rings.
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