Tag Archives: exotics@rtc

Plenty of Minis

English Day at Exotics@RTC means there will be some Minis. I mean the original Minis – none of the BMW type (I say none but there might be a few although they aren’t getting prime spots). They take me back to my childhood as the car I learned to drive in. These examples are in better condition and are far better performers than our 850cc example was, but they still look much the same.

One of them had a wooden dash which reminded me of my friend Sam. She had a mini with a wooden dash and she put in in a place for some work and, when she got it back, the dash wears gone. They denied it had ever been there and she was absolutely gutted. If you are reading this Sam, I hope that isn’t too painful a memory. If you haven’t ever driven on old Mini, my memory of it was that they were like a go kart. I haven’t driven one for decades and wonder how they would seem after years of driving modern vehicles. I hope it would still be fun.

English Day at Exotics@RTC

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I didn’t get to Exotics@RTC this year as much as I would have liked. Sometimes the weather conspired against them and sometimes I couldn’t make it anyway. I did mange to make some of the special days, though, and one of these was the English Day. This tends to have more of a vintage feel to it than some of the other special days. Yes, there are plenty of McLarens and Aston Martins but a lot of older stuff to mix it up a bit.

You get the Bentleys and Rolls (not sure how well they qualify as English anymore) and there are Jags all over the place but there are plenty of less common types and definitely a few of the ones that probably keep mechanics busy. You have no idea how many jokes about Lucas electrical systems you can hear in the space of an hour. Aside from these shots, I also took a little video to share with my sister on the day and have edited that down a bit to include below.

Italian Day At Exotics Again

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The schedule for Exotics@RTC has been erratic this year. They have had to scrub a bunch of events as a result of the poor weather. However, with summer finally arriving in the Pacific Northwest, they have had a run of successful gatherings. One of these was their Italian Day. I have been to this before and it is always a fun event with a lot of interesting vehicles. It was going to worth going again.

The center of the venue was packed as usual. Plenty of Ferraris and Lamborghinis to look at. Not as much variety in the Ferraris as in some previous events but still a lot of good looking cars. These are nice to see but it is perhaps more fun to spot the oddities that show up. I was interested in how many Alfa Romeo Spiders were in attendance and just have different they could be. I guess the Spider stayed in production for a long time and the design evolved a lot over that time. Annoyingly, I didn’t seem to get any good shots of them. There were plenty of other Alfas, though as well as some older Ferraris. These shots are a sample of what was on display.

AMG Mercedes Fins and Strakes

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I was taking a look at one of the AMG Mercedes cars that was at Exotics@RTC. This is a road car but it has clearly gone through a lot of aerodynamic development. The front end of the car is covered in aero treatments with fin and strakes of all sorts. I have no idea how important this is for driving the car around Seattle but it was really quite something. I spent a few minutes just looking at them and thinking back to my aero days.

McLaren Elva

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This car was at the opening weekend of Exotics@RTC and I have to admit I had no idea what it was at the time. A couple of days later, I saw a YouTube video about it and realized that it was what I had seen. The McLaren Elva is a strange vehicle. No roof and not even a windshield. Apparently, it is strange enough that they are not selling so well and the production run has been reduced. I guess the best part of two million dollars is too much for a car that requires you to wear googles and probably a helmet!

Citroen Style

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I must not be a typical Brit because I seem to have an affinity for things French. This is something I have acquired over the years (and may be the reason I was driven from the UK!). The French do things their own way and it results in some really interesting stuff. The Citroen DS is just such an interesting thing. I first noticed one when traveling on a ferry and was fascinated when it started up and the suspension inflated. I had never seen something like that before.

The looks didn’t appeal to me then because I was used to the more familiar vehicles of the time. Now I have come to appreciate it for being a stylish looking vehicle. Sure, it has quirks that might make it a nuisance to own but it certainly looks very swish. One was on display at Exotics@RTC and I was drawn to it. It certainly didn’t hurt that the owner had applied hubcaps that looked like some sort of hypnosis device. What a fantastic addition to the day.

BMW M1

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Another supercar at the opening weekend of Exotics@RTC was a BMW M1. This one was slightly away from the center of things but still in the premium area. However, I suspect it wasn’t getting as much attention as some of the other cars. I ended up chatting to the guy that owned it. He was from Sarf London but now lives out here and was a fun guy.

The M1 came out a while before I went to university and I recall that one of my aero professors had been involved in the design team. It has the look of a supercar from that era but that doesn’t stop it looking cool. I was particularly taken by the wheels which were made by Campagnolo – the manufacturer of the group set for my road bike!

Cars like this showing up are what makes Exotics@RTC such a fun event. There will always be a lot of super expensive cars on show – many of which are brought along from dealers – but there will be some unusual and interesting vehicles that are a bit out of the ordinary. For someone that knows their cars better than me, it would be a particular treat.

Exotics Starts Its 2022 Season

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After two aborts due to bad weather forecasts, the Exotics@RTC season finally kicked off in April. The first event of the year is always a popular one with both those displaying their cars and those coming out to see them. I was keen to be there and didn’t have a conflict so got ready early and headed down to Redmond. It was a full showing. They had the center of the shopping mall filled with cars as is the case for the special days – normal weekends are confined to the parking lots – and it was interesting to see what cars had a lot of attention.

Some of the more special cars are often there and don’t get so many people looking at them. I find it strange that a Ferrari F40 elicits so little attention. Even the Senna wasn’t getting too many people around it. With so many exotic vehicles, I guess there is plenty to look at. A few of the cars I saw on this day will get their own posts because they deserve it. However, this will be a selection of the views and cars available that day.

Multiple Minis

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Exotics@RTC has attracted a few Minis during the 2021 season. Having learned to drive in a Mini and used one a lot in my teenage years, I am always happy to see the original versions. Sure, the modern Minis are fun vehicles but the originals are more interesting, even if they would not provide much protection in the event of doing something silly.

The one I drove was powered by an 850cc engine. The 1275 engines were far more exotic. Coopers were something else. Here the focus is mainly on the Coopers but that is fine. Finding one turned in to a convertible was a bit of a surprise. It is fun to see that plenty of people still find the Mini fun and keep them going and in great condition.

Electric Karman Ghia

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The Karman Ghia is a car that is rightfully considered a classic. People spend large sums of money on keeping them in working order and as close to or better than the condition in which they left the factory. One I saw at Exotics@RTC had taken things a different way. It had been converted into an electric vehicle.

The owner had everything open to inspect with the batteries and control electronics fitted in to the available space within the car. I would imagine that a car as light as a Karman Ghia would, when given the power and instant torque of an electric drivetrain, go like stink! It was certainly attracting a lot of attention. Getting a photo of it without people all around it proved impossible. After a while of waiting, I concluded that the attention was really part of the story so accepted that it should have a lot of people in the photo.