Photos from a big car weekend!

This was quite a weekend for me: 5 car events in 4 days! It kept my "little" Canon SX200 blasting away. I took the Ferrari to three of the events, so it got some mileage as well.

First off was the bimonthly FCA dinner, this time at Benihana in Alpharetta. We had exactly enough people to fill two adjoining teppan ("hibachi") tables, where we watched our chefs slice and dice away, having fun with our food! (Our chef was named Gerardo - I don't think that he was Japanese!) A good time was had by all.

Only three of us chose to drive our Ferraris to the restaurant, though there was also a Maserati, an Aston Martin and a BMW i8 in attendance elsewhere in the lot.
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On Friday night, I accepted an invitation to attend an unusual event in Buckhead: the unveiling of a special car in an unusual venue. The car was the only authorized Porsche 918 in North America to be painted in Gulf colors (the same car is on the cover of the current DuPont Registry issue), and the venue was the high-end Roche Bobois furniture showroom on Buckhead Avenue.

Since I didn't want to do valet parking, I left the 328 at home and parked my Honda Civic in the Buckhead Atlanta parking deck a block away. The parking would be my only expense for the evening, since the entire event was free to the invited guests, including bountiful hors-d'oeuvres and bar drinks.

As you can see, the action started out front, where selected cars were invited to park in the front driveway, while others were picked up at curbside by the valets to be parked in a lot on the far corner.

Inside, the car of honor was covered with a cloth, accompanied by four beautiful models. The certificate of authenticity and the authorizing letter from Gulf were both prominently displayed. Also nearby, was an interesting piece of art, a bench painted with an image of the car of honor. This was the work of David Chapple, who has other similar benches available, including some with Ferraris on them.

Custom Benches
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Now remembering that the car is a 918, and Friday's date was 9/18, it should come to no one's surprise that the unveiling was schduled for 9:18. But car owner Atique Shah (a gentleman I'm certain that some of you know) decided that that would be too late, so the deed was done at about 8:40. After some introductory remarks, Atique asked the young ladies to lift the cover, and we all got to see the car. Unfortunately the lighting and the congestion conspired to make photographing the whole car nearly impossible, but I knew that I'd have another chance later in the weekend.

Even though I only knew a few people there, and none very well, I was glad that I went. It was a rather unique experience. (I think the last "unveiling" that I actually attended had been the rollout of the first Boeing 767 back in 1981!)

I'll post photos from my weekend activities (including more pics of this 918) later in the week.
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On Saturday, I did the two car shows that I had started a thread about, to try and drum up interest among FChatters. That effort went for nought, since there was only one other Ferrari at each show, and in both cases, the other car left quite early, leaving it up to me to uphold Maranello honor! In fact, at the first show, after the 458 left, I had the only Italian car, period!

That would be the annual United Way show on Warsaw Road in Roswell, always an enjoyable show, and this year the weather was beautiful. Of course, it did warm up later, so I was smart enough to know where the shady spots were. (Ditto for Rick Russo, who was there with his V-12 Aston Martin.) Neither of us won a trophy - the BMW Z8 won Best Exotic, and a Buick Grand National won Best '80s Car, the two awards which I have won in the past. I did win a door prize, though, a neat UPS backpack.

Here are some of the highlights. I particularly liked the enormous '39 Lincoln, with four suicide doors and a fake Tommy gun on the back seat! I also liked the his-&-hers C7 Corvettes with clever license plates. The '74 Pontiac Grand Am (a car I'd seen at Caffeine & Octane) was gorgeous, as was the '31 Ford pickup.
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Ah, yes, but were they authorized by Gulf? I believe that is the claim with the Atlanta car.

 

When I determined that I wasn't going to win any trophy at the Roswell show, I fired up the 328 and took the quick ride up 400 to the annual show at First Redeemer Church in Cumming. On arrival I saw the red Cayman of my friend and co-worker Mark, so I pulled in alongside, to be joined minutes later by a red 355 (which didn't stay long). So we had 3 red European sports car side-by-side.

At least I didn't have the only Italian this time, even after the 355 left, thanks to a Lamborghini Espada, not a car that one sees too often. If you think about it, the Espada was a precursor to today's Ferrari FF: effectively a fast two-door wagon with a roomy back seat, a hatchback and a V-12 engine. In fact, the passenger got around the site in a power chair, which in spite of its size, fit in the Espada's trunk quite nicely when it was time to go.

As it transpired, the gorgeous black '57 Corvette, the first car I photographed, would win Best of Show. (My favorite was its contemporary, the Buick 4-door hardtop wagon.) The familiar DeLorean with flux capacitor and appropriate license plate would win Best Exotic. And I won another door prize, this time a heavy-duty sponge, something that will always come in handy.

I passed up the free hot dog (having eaten two for lunch at the other show) and bought a bagel in the coffee lodge while watching LSU run through Auburn's defense. Show attendance was down a bit, a pity because this is a very enjoyable show.

And there is still Sunday to come!
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The helicopter, of course, was not part of the car show; I don't know how it got there.

 

Now, to (finally) finish my saga from last weekend. I had not registered for Caffeine & Exotics, since after doing two car shows on Saturday, I felt that the 328 and I both needed a break. Plus, I wanted to watch the Singapore GP (won by Ferrari!). But I also wanted to get some better photos of the Gulf 918.

So as soon as the GP finished (and as usual for Singapore, it ran long), I hopped in my Civic and scooted on down to Lenox. While most of the cars had left or were leaving (it was nearly 10:30 when I arrived), Atique and the 918(s) were still there, accompanied by the same young ladies I had seen on Friday night. Naturally, I also photographed some of the other cars still there, including a large number of Bentleys.

Then I went to have lunch (Italian, of course, in honor of Ferrari's GP victory), and that was the end of my five-event extended car weekend!
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