The 2023 edition of the Import and Performance Nationals is a month away, and car clubs are getting ready.
Every spring hundreds of rare foreign classics descend upon Carlisle, Pennsylvania, for the annual weekend fest that has no close rival in North America when it comes to the number and variety of cars on the field.
The Carlisle Import and Performance Nationals, with over a thousand cars in attendance each year, feature rare machinery from Europe, Asia, North America, and sometimes even South America. A number of smaller car clubs, including Opel and Renault, often use the May event as their main annual gathering, while larger local chapters of single-marque clubs such as Saab often featuring over 300 cars on the field.
A month before the busy weekend, what car owners and visitors can look forward to in 2023?
For starters, Carlisle will mark the 50th anniversary of the Honda Civic in America this year. the model having entered production in Japan in July 1972 and arriving stateside months later in March 1973.
The first-generation Civic went on sale in the US in March 1973. This minty example has visited Carlisle in the past.
Autoweek
“Since going on sale in America in early 1973, Civic’s 11 generations have consistently set the benchmark for the U.S. auto industry by delivering class-leading quality and reliability, outstanding fuel efficiency and low emissions, refined and responsive driving dynamics and top-class safety performance,” the automaker said on the anniversary of its production start, also noting sales of 12.3 million units stateside over this period of time.
Among other things it was the first Honda model to receive the CVCC engine, which at time was the first powerplant to meet U.S. emission standard without using a catalytic converter.
As you’ve probably guessed, the Civic is also the longest running nameplate in the automaker’s history. A special display dedicated to the Civic will be housed in Building T on the Carlisle show grounds.
Audi will also be a featured marque at Carlisle this year, which has traditionally boasted one of the largest annual contingents at the event every year, with over a hundred cars usually in attendance. While quite a few of the participant vehicles are from the 1980s and later, we’ve seen a number of earlier models with four rings, including DKW and Auto Union models. When it comes to Audi anniversaries, in 2023 the Audi TT celebrates its 25th year.
Audi has traditionally had one of the biggest contingents at Carlisle.
Autoweek
Yet another featured marque at Carlisle will be Rolls-Royce—an admittedly rare visitor to the southern Pennsylvania city. This year will see the Silver Seraph turn 25, with the first new Rolls model in many years getting a little help from BMW in the process. Its successor, meanwhile, will turn 20 this year, its design having seemingly evolved little over the past two decades.
MG turns 100 this year, but for whatever reason, Carlisle has rarely had major British car turnouts, as they tend to have their own club gatherings. One such marque event is coming up in June in Waterford, Connecticut, as the MG Club hosts the annual British by the Sea with hundreds of cars in attendance.
Visit the Carlisle Events website for the full schedule and ticket information.
Jay Ramey Jay Ramey grew up around very strange European cars, and instead of seeking out something reliable and comfortable for his own personal use he has been drawn to the more adventurous side of the dependability spectrum.
Keyword: Carlisle Will Mark a Big Honda Civic Anniversary