Guilty Pleasure

How can a sports can enthusiast love a 5,000 lb luxury car? Here's how. Make it live large but drive small. Start with an All Wheel Drive chassis that is smart enough and strong enough to manage a revolutionary, compact W-12 twin turbocharged engine making a staggering 600 hp. Let the wind yield a gorgeous, organic shape and wrap every surface of the interior in Connelly leather, Wilton wool carpet, burl wood (or pretty much any wood you care to select) and an air of opulence not found in any other brand. The Bentley Continental, in either its two-door GT or four-door Flying Spur configuration simply defies the laws of physics. It's not that it gets to 60 in well under five seconds or has a top speed approaching 200 mph. It's the smooth, seamless, turbine-like manner in which this takes place. The steering, cornering, braking and overall handling limits are amazingly high, but even more astounding when combined with what is possibly the most comfortable ride you can buy anywhere. Bentley has sold over 7,000 of these marvels (at prices ranging from $180-$230k) since its introduction. This is one car I never get tired of spotting.

Luxury Performance

Drivers of exotic performance cars typically have more than one vehicle and they tend to be brand (or at least country)-loyal. The basic requirement for this category is a minimum of three wide-eyed passengers, the most powerful engine and an interior fit for a king. Featured her is the Bentley Continental, Maserati Quattroporte, Ferrari 612 and California GT, as well as, performance-wise, the King of Four Doors, the Porsche Panamera which reaches 125 mph in under ten seconds. Forget the cupholders. Think G-Suit....

Ferrari's 430

The Ferrari 430 was produced from 2004 till 2009. It has been one of their most successful models as a Berlinetta, Spyder or Scuderia. The Scuderia competes with cars like the Porsche RS-models and the Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera (meaning super-light weight). It is lighter (by 220 lb!) and more powerful. From its sumptuous hand stitched leather to the scream of its flat plane crank V8, this car is at once sensual, yet wild and untamed. It is a full fledged assault on the senses, the Sophia Loren of the automotive world.

Lamborghini Gallardo

The Gallardo, in all its variations, is a hit, with over 5000 built in its first three years of production. With a 500+hp V-10 and AWD, this car flat out screams in any of it's versions. Besides the standard Gallardo (standard?) I also feature the Spyder and a fuzzy spy shot of the ultra rare Superleggera lightweight track day toy. There's been an ongoing discussion among friends about what colors should exotic cars be, and it varies. Ferrari's should be red or yellow, Aston's should be a distinguished grey and Lamborghini's should be BRIGHT! I'll cover the topic of night stalkers in another post.

Classic Carspotting

Weekends are great on Las Olas for classics to come out of the woodwork. Beautiful examples of a uniquely American art form in their natural setting. Today I feature the best of Chevrolet. The Camaro RS SS is especially rare.

Custom/Modified

Your friendly neighborhood Carspotter has a deep abiding respect for the Custom/Modified crowd. These guys love their vehicles like no other. A nice sunny weekend is all it takes for these guys to come out. Whether it's a hot rod or a one-off track-day ride, these guys have true dedication to their craft. And some really fast rides.

Raw Power Ford GT

The Ford GT shown here took a little work. Whereas the Italian, British and German exotics have become downright civilized in traffic, The GT, rumbles, growls and paws at the pavement. It explodes from a stop light like a thoroughbred at Churchill Downs. Now, I can keep up with most things in traffic with my point-and-shoot Honda S2K. I knew if I could keep him in sight, the stop lights would reel him in for me. This beast is a rare sight and one of the hardest to photograph to date. Enjoy...