Imagine Stepping Back In Time…
That’s what the Chattanooga Motorcar Festival is all about. Period correctness, heritage & history are the pinnacles of this event. Everywhere you look: old cars, cool cars, cool old cars, people dressed in period correct attire – you get the idea. This year’s event was chock full of sub-genre shows, racing action & the return of Mecum Auto Auction. So much to do, you can’t do it all in one day. Good thing the festival spans multiple days! Seeing as this is my hometown show, I thought I’d share what I saw and try to give an idea of the atmosphere you can expect. I hope you enjoy this gallery of incredible cars.
Ferraris… So many Ferraris.
One of my personal favorite parts of this event was the presence of Ferrari. Ferrari of Atlanta was a major part of the event as a whole and collectors brought out their best.
I could honestly look at this all day. This is the engine bay of the Ferrari F50, inboard suspension and all.
Plenty of cars dressed in ‘Rosso Corsa’ to look at all weekend.
The amount of vintage Ferraris was truly incredible. I had never seen so many classic prancing horses in all of my life – in one place.
And yes – there was an Enzo. Dressed in yellow of all colors. I’ve only ever seen them in red, so it was nice to see another color.
The owner is a super cool guy and reached out to me after the event. Take a look at the contrasting stitching and matching floor mats.
Overall, I’d have to say this area was my personal favorite of the whole weekend. Non stop eye candy, cars moving around to drive around the city – what a noise.
Racing Action!
A huge portion of this event is the racing action. Of which, there was plenty of it Friday & Saturday.
Cars from all different eras were represented. Each era had its own separate class for more close competition.
I found a stretch of track I liked and pretty much stuck to it. Overtakes on the straight, close racing action into the chicane.
Cars would FLY past the spectator area.
This Alfa GTV6 was one of my favorites.
I’m pretty sure this psychedelic liveried 914 was the quickest in its class by several seconds. Wild car to see.
Even the pits were a fun time! Getting to meet some of the drivers is part of what makes this an amazing experience.
There were some *incredibly* historic cars brought out. And familiar liveries were all over the place.
Shoutout to the fine folks Flatrock Motorsports Park for showing their presence at this event. These guys are opening a full fledged grand prix circuit next year in middle Tennessee. It’s literally a straight shot from my house & just an hour up the road. We absolutely cannot wait to check it out.
Mecum Auto Auctions
Another event at the Chattanooga Motorcar Festival is Mecum Auto Auctions. Having previously worked for a company that was a major sponsor of Mecum – I can tell you these guys are EXPERTS at what they do.
Mecum brings all kinds of cars out – all of which are for sale. What makes them unique is that they allow sellers to set reserves on their cars. If it’s not met – the bid goes on…
There were so many interesting cars there, but I picked only a couple to show here. You really need to attend one of these to fully understand the quality and size.
Hey look – a new Hummer EV! Those are TOTALLY fine and haven’t been issued ANY recalls! *sarcasm* – Our very own Wooley has some strong opinions on the new Hummer EV – I can’t help it!
The Great Race
The Great Race is a point-to-point, time based rally with vintage & historic cars. Typically these have multiple stages going through multiple states. This was a separate event from this years main race. Still very cool to see.
Sub-Genre Car Shows
All weekend, there were car shows for every genre just about. Tons to see. Like this Corvette specific show.
Same spot – different day. BMW show. The red car is a V12 manual car. Stupid rare spec.
They shut down MULTIPLE streets for the shows.
Again, same spot – different day.
My favorite show was Hagerty’s Concours d’Lemons – a celebration of the most under appreciated cars. For example, the not-a-Ferrari “Fiero”
My top 2 favorite Saturn cars – together in one place? This is what heaven looks like to some people…
*no comment*
My friends at the Lane Motor Museum brought out a collection of Tatras. This one is a rear mounted V8 & won an award in its class.
My friend Colin was there showcasing his Volvo & his dog, Bishop, climbed on the hood for a photo. Such a good boi.
RADwood had a section as well – though I would have loved to have seen MORE cars like these.
Like, take a look at this Mercedes. Probably the only one I have ever seen like it. More of this!!!
There was also a general car show for the area. I saw a few of my friends there, too.
One of my all time favorite factory BMW colors.
I really could make a video on this car. The DeTomaso Pantera is such an interesting car. Always love to see them!
Volkswagen also played a crucial part. They helped make this event possible.
I’d also like to mention that my old boss, Corky Coker, brought out so many unique vehicles. I’d say at one point, half of the street was lined with just his cars – like this Bentley. Incredible cars.
I think I’ll just dump the rest of my “cool” photos without context…
FARTS… Ok, NOW I’ll dump the photos.
The rest of the photos from Chattanooga Motorcar Festival:
At the end of the Chattanooga Motorcar Festival, they do an awards ceremony. The top cars of each class go home with an award. A fitting way to end the weekend.
Would I recommend attending this event? As a car enthusiast, absolutely. $45 for a one day ticket might seem like a lot, but there is SO much to do! It’s hard to fit it all into one article, actually, but here we are. Thank you to everyone that made this event possible. Can’t wait for the next one.
Want to support us? Buy a shirt or something… idk.
Text & Photos by Ben Battles
