An Evening at the 2016 Petit Le Mans

One of 1,963 50th Anniversary 911s built, this Porsche makes a statement overlooking turns 11 and 12 at Road Atlanta. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

Campground craft take multiple forms. As it turns out, one of these is a convertible Chevy sedan. There's no arguing; the patina is perfect. (Brooks Metzler 2016) 

A classic long wheel base Range Rover flexes for the camera in the Road Atlanta infield during the 2016 Petit Le Mans. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

Members of Ferrari team Risi Competizione stand on the pit wall, awaiting their turn in the 488 GTE. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

Ford Racing's team tent in the paddock on pit lane. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

A replacement front bumper for the Ecoboost Ford GT sits on top of a toolbox by the Ford team. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

An Audi R8 V10 pace car was the subject of a lot of attention at the far end of the paddock. (Brooks Metzler 2016) 

The No. 4 Z06.R of Team Corvette powers out of turn one at Road Atlanta. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

The No. 68 Ferrari 488 GTE of Scuderia Corsa, which went to take home 8th in the GTLM class. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

No. 8 Audi R8 LMS GT of Stevenson Motorsports negotiates turn 10 at Road Atlanta. Finishes 6th in the GTD class. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

Ford Chip Gnassi Racing's GT No. 67, which went on to finish 7th in the GTLM class. Its twin, No. 66, finished second in class, bested by Risi Competizione's Ferrari 488 GTE. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

An offering from local manufacturer Panoz at Road Atlanta. Out of frame, their DeltaWing prototype is loaded into the trailer. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

A BMW M4 GTS at the manufacturer's booth on vendor hill at Road Atlanta. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

BMW race cars line up underneath the vendor awning at Road Atlanta. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

A trio crosses under the bridge as the sun starts to duck behind the trees during the final hours of the 2016 Petit Le Mans. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

A group barrels down the hill towards the fast final corner at Road Atlanta during the 2016 Petit Le Mans (Brooks Metzler 2016)

Ferrari and Ford round the final corner before the straightaway. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

Change Racing's Lamborghini Huracan GT3 rounds turn three at Road Atlanta, followed by the red and silver Huracan of Paul Miller Racing, which ultimately finished ahead. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

A Chevrolet fan watches the 2016 Petit Le Mans action across from the grandstands on turn 10. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

The No. 66 Ford GT of Chip Ganassi Racing, which went on to finish second in the GTLM class. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

The No. 60 Honda HPD of Michael Shank Racing, which won first overall at the 2016 Petit Le Mans, while also setting the best lap time of the day, at 1:13.5. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

Team Seattle Racing's 911 GT3R and Change Racing's Huracan GT3 are door-to-door leaving turn one. (Brooks Metzler 2016) 

All four discs glow red on a Mazda Prototype as night falls on Petit Le Mans. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

Porsche North America prepares to pack up their 911 RSR early. They finished 10th in the GTLM class. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

Caffeine & Exotics (7-19-2015)

Caffeine and Octane is an institution in the Atlanta car show scene, the Atlanta car scene, and really growing to become an Atlanta institution in general. What's a sure sign of a strong tradition? Spin-offs. The Mustang spawned the Camaro, which spawned the Firebird, which spawned the Challenger and other offerings from Chrysler's Mopar division and General Motor's holdings (not necessarily in that order)

And Caffeine and Octane spawned Caffeine & Exotics, an easily-confusable name, but a different show atmosphere altogether.

Caffeine & Exotics with the Westin Buckhead as a backdrop.

I haven't been to Caffeine and Octane's new venue, now at Perimeter Mall. But I remember several summers ago when it was held in a wooded business park off of Windward Parkway. Every first Sunday that parking lot would be packed to the gills by 8AM. Cars parked on the end caps and all along the roads winding through the business park, and people filed through the lot, often tripping over each other --especially me, because I was usually crouched trying to get an interesting angle-- to get a look at the cars.

Here's a clip from July 2013 at Caffeine and Octane's old Windward Parkway location.

Caffeine & Exotics is different. The show is held at Lenox Mall in a small front parking lot. What's unique about this show is their red carpet running perpendicular to the mall entrance. Each show it features a different car, this month it was a beautiful Saleen S7, owner unknown. The lot is surrounded by mid-rise buildings. It's interesting how a more downtown environment lends a different mood to a car show.

I spoke to the owner of a 1994 Ferrari 348 at the show who says he doesn't normally bring his Ferrari to Caffeine and Octane. Instead, he says he breaks out the El Camino. And I think that illustrates the difference in mood between the two shows.

See, Caffeine & Exotics also differs in that pre-registration is required. This is traditionally how it's done in the car show realm, but Caffeine and Octane is a free, first-come, first-served show. It's based off of the original Cars and Coffee in Irvine, California. The only way you're guaranteed a spot at Caffeine and Octane is if you get there before the lot is full.

But Caffeine & Exotics still manages to capture some of the magic that C&O does across town. The Nissan GT-Rs and Lamborghinis in highlighter tones draw crowds of well-dressed teens and adults alike. There were classic Porsches on display: a fiberglass 917 replica and two Speedster-inspired track cars. A line of brand new Mercedes' sat across from a group of Corvettes, which were adjacent to a handful of Aston Martins.

While Caffeine & Exotics certainly isn't as much of a catch-all as Caffeine and Octane can be, it's still making its way up in the Atlanta car scene. And it's setting itself apart while still managing to harness some of that environment that draws hundreds of onlookers and cars to Caffeine and Octane every month.

If you want to catch the next Caffeine & Exotics show, be sure to get up bright and early on the third Sunday in August (8/19). The cars start rolling in around 8 and it all wraps up at 11AM when the mall opens.

Keep scrolling to check out the rest of my pictures from this morning!