It’s not just the UK where the breakfast meeting for owners and enthusiasts of a diverse array of cars has become popular. The format certainly has its fans in America, too, and perhaps none of these meeting types is better known than the “Cars and Coffee” held every Saturday morning in Irvine, in Orange County, Southern California. I’ve been meaning to go along to one of these gatherings ever since I first heard about them, and having seen pictures on the official website of some incredibly exotic machinery, was all the more determined, so finally, I made plans. I had heard that the event does start early, and finishes early. Quite how early is meant, though, caught me by surprise. I set off from my hotel by LAX airport just as the dark was being banished, and arrived in Irvine around 8:30am, finding it quite easy to locate the event – it’s held in the car park between the joint Mazda and Ford facilities there – from the array of departing supercars coming towards me. Sadly, that meant I was all but too late, with much of the event parking area empty and the crowds all heading back to their cars. I did stay for around an hour, by which time the vendors of the coffee part of the event had packed up, and almost all the display cars had gone. That means that there is not that much to report on here, compared to a “full” show, which I promise I will fit into the schedule soon. Anyway, enjoy what I did see:
AC
A couple of Cobra models, Neither was a genuine mid 1960s original, but these are striking cars and they still attract attention even now.
ACURA
The NS-X was branded an Acura in the US
ALFA ROMEO
You haven’t been able to buy a new Alfa in the US for around a quarter of a century, but the handful of models that are still on American soil are just as cherished as classic Alfas are in Europe. This 1750 Spider is just such an example.
AUSTIN
I was a little surprised to see this Austin Mini Countryman, as very few of the Issigonis Minis were sold in the US. This one looked convincing, but when I saw the entire front end tipped forward, like you would open the bonnet of a Triumph Herald, it was clear that it was not quite as original as you might imagine. The driver was something of a surprise, as he was, well, not exactly the sort of size that you would expect to drive one of the smallest cars on American roads!
CHEVROLET
Needless to say, there were quite a few Corvettes present, including an example of the latest C7 generation Stingray, in roadster guise. I’ve seen a few of these out on the road now, and it is a very striking design indeed. Other ‘Vettes included a nice couple of examples of the previous model to bear the Stingray name, the C2, in both the initial guise and after the 1968 styling changes.
Far more unusual was this, a Corvair Greenbrier Rampside pickup. Based on the regular Corvair saloon, Chevrolet made both an early People Carrier and a van version, and examples of these are both rare and valuable these days.
It was not the only Chevrolet pickup attending, as this S10 model was also rather nicely presented.
The early Camaro from the 1967 – 1970 period are among my favourite American cars. This was example of one of the limited edition models made to celebrate the car being selected as the Pace Car for the 1969 Indy 500.
A late arrival was this, the Equinox Fuel Cell car. I’ve seen this at shows before, but clearly there are at least a few out on the road.
DE TOMASO
This was a nice example of an early Pantera, before Tom Tjaarda’s clean shape got altered with ever wider wings to accommodate larger wheels. Most Pantera sales were in America, where the combination of proven Ford mechanicals and Italian bodywork had massive appeal, until the rather suspect build quality became all too apparent to all too many owners.
FORD
Along with the Corvette, the Mustang is the other absolute staple of the American car enthusiast community, so it was no surprise to find a number of these models here, ranging from some early cars to an array of the soon to be replaced current car, present in GT500 and Shelby guises.
There were also a couple of GT40s, or rather, GT40 recreations. Again, like the Cobras, these attract a lot of attention whenever they appear.
JAGUAR
Lots of interest was being created by this D Type. And yes, it is a genuine D Type, not a replica.
Also rather nice was this Series 2 E Type, more properly known as an XKE in America.
JENSEN
A very nice Interceptor.
LA SALLE
This 1941 La Salle was attracting quite a lot of interest, especially from the older attendees.
MERCEDES-BENZ
Oldest Mercedes present whilst I was there was this very elegant 220S Coupe.
Also nice was a “Pagoda” W113 280SL.
More recent was this CLK63 AMG
PONTIAC
This 1970 GTO arrived after I did. The owner kindly invited me to sit in it, and then he fired the engine, so I could hear that wonderful burble of a true muscle car.
There was an earlier GTO present, too. I think this one dates from around 1965.
PORSCHE
I am told that the previous weekend, there had been a 918 Spider in attendance. That would have been the first I would have seen outdoors, but alas, it was not to be. However, I was just in time to catch a Carrera GT start up and head away from the event, though.
There were plenty of 911s, of various types from early cars to much more recent incarnations.
Also on show were a couple of the VW/Porsche 914. I was surprised to learn just how many of these were made during a relatively short production life (over 100,000). Most of them were sold new to the US market, so perhaps not such a surprise to find them in California!
VOLKSWAGEN
The Type 2 is more commonly seen in California as a “bus”, so it made quite a change to find a van version on show.
There had been all manner of Lamborghini and Ferrari present, which I saw departing, just as I arrived, and who knows what else I missed. Even as depleted as it was, this was an interesting event, and now I know not just where it is (a couple of minutes off the I5 Freeway), but that “early” really does mean just that, one to which I will be returning.
