Caffeine & Exotics – July 2020

Once again, Caffeine And Exotics transformed the idyllic grounds of City Hall in Sandy Springs, Georgia into a car lover’s field of dreams. Only twice this year will this nationally known gathering take place on the city’s pristine front lawn.

The Caffeine and Exotics event is Atlanta’s universally recognized premier exotic car event. The producers of C&E also organize the Caffeine and Octane event, which is held rain or shine every month at the Perimeter Mall.

Since the event’s inception in 2015, this has been an invite-only exotic car show for exhibitors. The number on display is intentionally limited to roughly 175 privately owned vehicles. 1,000s of hopefuls apply, yet few chosen.

Blue McLaren hypercar at car show — McLaren with a glass section in the lower door panel

Best Of The Best

Those fortunate to grace 1 Galambos Way represent the pinnacle of inspired automotive artistry. Lamborghini, Ferrari, McLaren, Rolls Royce, Aston Martin, Porsche, Lotus, Maserati, and Bentley were just a few in attendance.

This session had two clear crowd-favorites. Two exotic automotive creations that had the spectators drooling and the TV crew hurriedly shooting footage.

One was understandable; it was a beautiful example from famed hypercar designer Christian von Koenigsegg. The other took caught them off guard; it was from Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Sebring Orange 2020 C8 Corvette coupe — Tim & Kim and their Sebring Orange 2020 C8

A Star Is Born

Tim & Kim’s 2020 Sebring Orange Corvette was one of two C8s brought in for car aficionados to feast on visually. And feast they did.

Truth be told, we had to wait ten minutes for a rare break in the crowd to quickly pose Tim & Kim by the latest edition to their garage. That was just how genuinely excited people were to see this newest offering from Chevrolet.

Crowd of people around a Sebring Orange C8 Corvette — Crowds surrounded the C8 throughout the event

With literally millions of dollars worth of exotics to pique their interest, this eighth edition of the Corvette lineage drew continual crowds. For his part, Tim was a terrific brand spokesperson.

He patiently fielded question after question, even as the crowd grew to include the C&E film crew.

Caffeine & Exotics film crew at 2020 C8 Corvette — Film crew from Caffeine & Octane showed up

Skip Smith, the host of the TV show Caffeine & Octane, stopped by to admire the Corvette as well. If you’ve ever met Skip, he is an incredibly interesting man who could be considered the closest thing to a walking automotive encyclopedia.

Needless to say, Skip was impressed with the latest Bowling Green offering.

Skip Smith star or Caffeine & Octane talkking to Tim in July 2020 — Skip Smith TV host of Caffeine & Octane talking to Tim

ICCC At The Show

While talking to Tim & Kim’s C8, we bumped into yet another Tim. This Corvette-loving Tim is from the International Council of Corvette Clubs.

As you know, ICCC is a 501(c)(7) organization comprising numerous Corvette Clubs from as far East as South Carolina and far West as Texas. They promote the development of Corvette Clubs on a local level.

Just so happens that Tim also loves the Sebring Orange C8. Naturally, we had to get a photo of him beside his next future acquisition.

Representative of the ICCC club posed infront of a Sebring Orange C8 — Tim from International Council of Corvette Clubs

Tim proudly displaying logo from last year’s ICCC event

Double Rare Speedways

First, to find a Speedway White Z06 is rare. Second, to see two of them parked side by side with both owners named Mike has to be much rarer. We’re thinking somewhere on the magnitude of picking the winning Powerball Lottery number, twice.

Why is it so rare you ask? Well, 2001 was the only year Corvette offered the color on their Z06 platform. The color appeared on just 352 Corvettes or 6% of all Z06s produced in its C5 inaugural year.

Speedway White would disappear from the Z06 color choices the following year. In 2004 the color was officially dropped from Corvettes with Arctic White coming as the replacement.

The fun-loving Mikes were talking about creating a nationwide Speedway Z06 club. The small detail of where you had to be named Mike to join was still being debated as of the time of this article’s posting.

Mike and his Speedway White Z06 hardtop Corvette coupe — Mike with his 2001 Speedway White Z06

Unicorn hoodliner for a Speedway white Z06 — The Unicorn is a fitting addition to Mike’s Z06

C5 Speedway white Z06 at car show — Yes, another Mike with a 2001 Speedway White Z06

C&E Is A Visual Dream Come True

Caffeine & Exotics is a dream come true for lovers of exotic cars and those who enjoy photographing them. The City Springs venue provides a beautiful backdrop for unlimited photographs of rolling works of art from all angles.

For those lucky enough to have their car approved, they receive a double spaced reserved area to display their vehicle. They also have access to the private Driver’s Lounge on the balcony overlooking the show.

All told about a dozen beautiful Corvettes made it into the invite-only show that day. The next event date is October 11th for Caffeine & Exotics. Mark it on your calendar because this is one car show in Atlanta you don’t want to miss!