On the pre-Thanksgiving weekend, I got to go to not just one, but two events, this being the first. The duPont REGISTRY Cars & Coffee event for last month was held outside of the registry at Innisbrook Golf and Country Club, which provided a pleasant green backdrop for this new set of photos. The big draw for this event was the first Mercedes Benz SLS AMG convertible on U.S. shores, but I was quickly distracted by some classic Mopar racecars and the new Ferrari 458s that were in attendance.
Here is a selection of my favorite photos from the event. The full gallery can be viewed on my Flickr. I’ve actually uploaded all photos at full size. Some have been cropped for leveling and things like that, but most are at the original shot size. Feel free to use them for wallpapers.
Upon arrival, I found this nice old Datsun 510 and Chevy pickup truck in the parking area and thought they complemented one another quite well. They really pop against each other.
I just love old J-tin, like this Datsun 510. A parking attendant quickly urged me to get on the tram from the PA to the show, because that’s where the “real cars” were. I held back the urge to give a history lesson and walked on.
I was a bit puzzled by the top color on this first SLS AMG convertible. Red on a silver car? More of a reason to keep the top down, I guess.
It really is a massive car when you see it in person. I guess a drop top could be seen as one way around the supposedly long door reach on the hard top gull wing model. Gull wing or not, this is one sleek and elegant ride.
Inside the little hall, there was a nice little selection of deuce coupes, a resto-rod Bronco, and a Bel Air.
Selfie in the side mirror…
The wheel widths on this one were downright “Rauh Welt” wide.
Bare-foot pedals… reminds me of my dad’s old CJ-7.
The “Custom 1” Corvette, that I’ve covered on here in the past was once again in attendance. This is still the most viewed car on my Flickr account.
It’s taken me some time to warm up to the looks of the new Ferrari 458. I was a big fan of the 430 from the beginning, so it was sad to see it go at first. The 458, I find, is easier to appreciate in the flesh. Pictures just don’t do it justice. There were a few of them at this event, but I thought the white really looked the best.
Here it is with the old 308 and 360 models.
There was a nice selection of U.S. and European supercars that I don’t normally see, like this Spyker C8 Laviolette LM85, as well as the new Fisker Karma.
This Fisker was made for desktop wallpapers.
This Lambo lover was apparently ready to go to the movies, because he was already picking his seat.
I wonder how soon before we’ll see an Aventador at one of these C&C events.
Another first for me to see, the new Jaguar XKR-S. This is what the XK series should have looked like from the beginning. Gorgeous and aggressive!
The Rocket car was there! And was actually being ignored enough that I was able to get a couple of really clear shots this time. I saw a guy leaving in it later with earplugs, because of how loud it was.
Then, I turned the corner and my jaw hit the ground.
Hamilton Petty Superbird!
Richard Petty Roadrunner!
I love the numbers in the headlight holes. As a friend said recently, these are cars from back when the “S” in NASCAR really meant something. (That being that the cars were “stock” based.)
This one had a model of the car inside the car (insert Xzibit “yo dawg” meme here).
Sox & Martin Hemi Cuda!
Dick Landy Pro Stock Challenger!
Just as I was finishing up shooting the racecars, a Challenger convertible drove by.
Next up were a pair of polished and supercharged Acura NSX. I loved the CCW wheels on this one.
Despite these being NA1 models (earlier), the seats looked practically brand new.
There was a nice selection of old Europeans there, like this Mercedes SL, the original gullwing. It was dwarfed in size by the much larger contemporary SLS AMG model that we saw earlier.
The old V8 Vantage has always seemed like what you would get if Britain tried to make a muscle car.
For the Alfa fans out there, there was this GTV-6 2.5 Maratona, one of only 150 made… and the guy drives it on the street. You have to respect that.
Along side the GTV-6 was this Montreal.
A General Lee Replica. They did a pretty good job of hiding the AC on this thing.
Chevy “El Chromino”
Overall, this was a pretty good show. There were a lot of cars there that I hadn’t seen at the previous Cars & Coffee events. It can get a little repetitive going to the same event repeatedly, so it was good to see a few new things. There were many more cars than I’m showing here. To get see the full shebang, check out the Flickr gallery.
Nicole L.
December 12, 2011 at 8:38 AM
Great photos! We have a photography contest every month for our events that you should consider sending in, if you haven’t already. (Go to http://www.facebook.com/CarsAndCoffee and it will be under the “Photography Contest” tab.) Hope to see you at our next Cars & Coffee this Saturday!