Tag Archives: automobiles

Italian Day Brings Out the Wealth

I have done quite well this year with getting to feature days at Exotics@RTC. The Italian Day is always going to be a popular one and the number of Ferraris and Lamborghinis in the area is going to provide a good basis for the event with a bunch of other cars of varying vintages being able to fill in the gaps with a bit of variety. I do not know much about these cars so, when I walk around, I am either looking for something I recognize or something that looks totally different. Here is a selection of shots of cars that fit those criteria.

Carbon Fiber Details

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The German day at Exotics@RTC included some rather high-end Mercedes and there was one with a lot of little aero details that caught my eye. When I see how someone with a good eye can find the details on a subject in a way that I can’t I am very jealous. It doesn’t stop me from looking to see which details do gain my interest, though. Carbon fiber can be tricky to shoot on a sunny day since it is dark but can also be reflective. I used a polarizer to try and cut the glare and show off the texture of the layup.

Some Vintage Volvos

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Exotics@RTC gets a lot of regular attendees so you will often see the same cars week after week. Getting something a little different is really appreciated. I have seen some old Volvos at Exotics before but whether it was these or not, I don’t know. (The modified one has definitely been before but more of that in a second.)

The P1800 is a cool looking car and, if you are old enough and have seen episodes of the original Saint TV show, you will recognize it. It was partnered with a more sedate vehicle which was also in great condition. Next to it was one that was a bit more tricked out. I don’t think carbon fiber was a key element of Volvos in those days and I imagine under the surface, this one has been uprated a touch. Good to have something a little different amongst the regular vehicles.

The Deferred German Car Day

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I missed out on the beginning of the Exotics@RTC schedule this year. They had several delays due to weather and I was away when the first event finally went ahead. However, when it came to the German Car Day, the weather played to my favor. I would have missed the originally planned date for travel reasons but, when it did happen, I was able to make the trip.

I like the German Car Day. The Italian Day is always impressive but there are far too many people with tons of cash that just buy Ferraris and Lamborghinis, so you end up with a lot of similar stuff. German Day isn’t perfect, but it does seem to pull out a lot more serious enthusiasts. Sure, there are loads of Porsches and BMWs around, but the central area had a bunch of cool looking motors. Yes, you’ll get a modern exotic Mercedes thrown in from someone with an excess of disposable income, but it doesn’t detract from a nice gathering of cool cars. Here are some of those cars!

An Enzo Out for Some Shopping

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A short jaunt to Redmond on a Saturday morning for Exotics@RTC did not yield a huge number of vehicles. Being between two feature days, it seemed to be quite a low-key event. There were still plenty of nice cars to be seen but it was a bit of a surprise to come across a Ferrari Enzo sitting out in the lot. Maybe someone had used it to run out to the shops for a while but, since the event was not as heavily attended, it wasn’t quite as swamped with viewers as might otherwise be the case.

It is quite a cool looking vehicle although some of the styling cues are not my favorite. Even so, standing around such a valuable vehicle was rather fun. I was chatting to a couple of guys that wanted to know exactly what type of Ferrari it was and, when I mentioned what they sell for, they were quite taken aback. We agreed that, at those prices, we would keep our own Enzos at home most of the time!

Italian Day for the Cars

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I’m heading back into the summer for an event that I have taken some specific topics from but for which the larger event has not yet been the subject of a post. We are back in Redmond for Exotics@RTC again and, specifically, for the Italian Day. This is always a popular day as it means quite the selection of the more spectacular examples of the Italian car industry.

I will always like to see some rare cars, even if I am not a connoisseur and I certainly am not able to identify which ones are particularly special. However, I am more than able to decide which ones I like the look of. Of course, when they are given pride of place at the center of the event, I am not going to fail to understand that there may be some significance to them!

Obviously, the sportier cars are very common at this event but there are others there too which are unusual and Italian. Some of these are the sort of car I might have seen a lot of as a kid in the 70s and 80s when they were just a usual vehicle in the UK – Italian brands were sold extensively in the UK, even if their design for warm Italian climate meant they dissolved in a UK winter! Here is a selection of some of the lovely vehicles that were in display for this year’s Italian Day.

What Makes One Dino Get Prime Spot Over Another?

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This is a perfect example of my ignorance regarding some of the things I see. The Italian Day at Exotics@RTC was on and this meant a bunch of Ferraris of varying vintages. In the prime spot at the center of the event was a Ferrari Dino. I may not know much about Ferraris, but I do know that the Dino was a famous car. There were actually a few of them scattered around. I don’t know whether prime spots were based on when they arrived or whether one of these is more important than another. Is one more authentic or was it just luck? Maybe some of you know.

Cars With Fins

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When it comes to classic American cars, I know next to nothing. I didn’t grow up with them and I haven’t studied them since so put me in amongst a bunch of these cars as was the case for the Exotics@RTC Classics event and I will just focus on what I think looks cool. These cars could be the rarest of items or the thing you could see at any local car meet and I wouldn’t be any the wiser. The only clue to me that they could be a significant vehicle would be that a huge crowd of people was hanging around them.

The Classics Day certainly did bring out any number of cool looking old vehicles. To be honest, some of them don’t even look that great to my eye but they are of an era and show where car design was at that time. They might be chunky and huge but that was what cars were like back then. Others have some more interesting styling features like the fins I mention in the title to this post. That is something that I would previously have found rather crass but, as the time has passed, it is now more of a cool styling cue.

I know quite a few people that are petrol heads that will recognize these vehicles and possibly their years. The only way I would identify them was if the name was written on the side – which it usually is – or if the owner has a sheet in the window with details of the vehicle and its history. That will be plenty for me anyway. Hope some of these chunky or swoopy shapes appeal to you.

Two Old Esprits

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My soft spot for the Lotus Esprit has shown itself with various posts over the years with historic shots or more recent images of preserved examples. Most of these have been of the later versions of the Esprit when the styling was slightly more curved, and the bigger engines were installed such as the Turbo SE or the V8. The Classics Day at Exotics@RTC provided two of the original versions of the Esprit. They were parked in the prime spots in Redmond Town Center and garnered plenty of attention.

Yellow and red are two colors that will definitely get attention for a sports car and there were lots of people checking them out. The red one had the tartan interior which really tells you the era when this car was produced. I bet you weren’t seeing that sort of finish in the late 80s! I had got there early so did okay getting shots without too many people in the way but as the morning wore on and more people showed up, the shots got harder to make. A little Photoshop effort would be needed.

German Day at Exotics@RTC

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My first visit to Exotics@RTC this year was delayed. Early events were canceled for weather reasons and then, when they got going, I was doing other things and couldn’t go. The first time I was able to make it was for the German Day. I have done this day in previous years, and I like the types of vehicles that show up. Yes, there will be a lot of modern Audis and BMWs but there will also be some far older and more interesting vehicles. A Porsche tractor was one of these.

I won’t go into great details about any individual vehicles, not least because I am not very knowledgeable about them. If they are in the center section, my assumption is that it is because they are unusual, rare and expensive but maybe something lesser can sneak in too. I wouldn’t know the difference. Here you go with some images of the various vehicles.