12th Annual Motori Italiani Gathering in Charlotte

Hello all,

CAFE (Charlotte Area Ferrari Enthusiasts) would once again like to extend
you a welcome to join us for our Spring gathering!

12th Annual Motori Italiani - A Celebration of Italian Motoring
Sponsored by Automotive International
Hosted by 131 Main Restaurant

Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Lancia, Iso, De
Tomaso, Ducati, Vespa, Aprilia, MV Agusta, Moto Guzzi, and much, much
more!

Saturday, March 24th from 11am - 3pm

As always, the location will be the parking lot of 131 Main Restaurant in the
Blakeney Shopping Center in South Charlotte. 131 Main will be providing a
$10 gift card per registered vehicle.

131 Main Restaurant
9886 Rea Road
Charlotte, NC 28277

This event will be a gathering/show to be enjoyed by both owners and
the general public. Visitors will have the opportunity to vote for
their favorites in a number of classes and awards will be presented to
the winners.

Bear in mind, this event is for ALL motorized Italian vehicles! Please
don't feel "my car/cycle is not show ready" - this is all about us getting
together and having a fun day!

If you are an owner and interested in participating, please feel free
to email me with your name and the following related to your vehicle -
year/make/model/colors. Registration is $25 per vehicle and can
be mailed or collected the day of the event. (Any additional vehicles from same
owner will be $15 each, but will not include a dining card).

[email protected]

We look forward to seeing everyone there!

Kevin Fielden
Founder
CAFE - Charlotte Area Ferrari Enthusiasts

 

Always fun to see the diversity of entries in the first 24 hours!

1984 308 GTSi QV
1988 Mondial Coupe
1999 360 Modena
2003 360 Modena
2004 360 Modena
2017 488 Spider
2017 488 Spider
1976 512 BB

1967 Lamborghini P400 Miura
2007 Lamborghini Gallardo

1972 Alfa Romeo Montreal
2015 Alfa Romeo 4C
2016 Alfa Romeo 4C

1963 Maserati 3500GT
1977 Fiat Spider
2016 Ducati Scrambler

 

A little more inspiration!

Ferrari:

1984 308 GTSi QV
1985 308 GTSi QV
1988 Mondial Coupe
1993 348ts Serie Speciale
1999 360 Modena
1999 360 Modena
2003 360 Modena
2004 360 Modena
2006 F430 Spider
2015 458 Spider
2017 488 Spider
2017 488 Spider
2018 488 GTB
1976 512 BB
1988 Testarossa
1993 512 TR
2003 575 Maranello


Lamborghini:

1967 P400 Miura
1995 Diablo VT
2007 Gallardo


Alfa Romeo:

1972 Montreal Silver
2015 4C White
2016 4C Red
2017 Giulia Quadrifoglio


Specialty Automobile:

1969 Iso Grifo
1977 Fiat Spider
1963 Maserati 3500GT
1985 Maserati Biturbo
2017 Maserati Ghibli


Ducati:

1987 F1B
1994 900 SS
2005 999
2006 Paul Smart
2007 ST3s
2008 Hypermotard Neiman Marcus
2015 Streetfighter 848
2016 859 Panigale
2016 Scrambler


Specialty Motorcycle:

2018 Aprilia Touno Factory

 

Hello all, hard to believe but we're already under two weeks until our 12th Annual Motori Italiani gathering! So, don't hesitate, get your Italian vehicle registered by the end of the day this coming Monday the 19th. After that, I will need to lay out the parking diagram, create dash placards, and so forth.

Simply email me your year/make/model/colors to [email protected]

We look forward to seeing everyone there!

Kevin Fielden
CAFE - Charlotte Area Ferrari Enthusiasts

 

We are a "go" for Saturday! Predictions haven't gone above 50%. Forecasters are saying "slight chance" and in the PM if so. It would have to be a much higher chance of a total washout to reschedule. It is quite a task to move this event and then we aren't guaranteed the new date would prove to be any better. Thanks and see you all there!

 

Thanks for the input... the noontime news forecasts are indeed showing a higher percentage. I'm in discussions with Jim who handles the cycles for this event. We should have a final decision soon. Thanks!

 

The weather forecasts keep fluctuating for Saturday. Some say the percentage is going up... some say going down. So a decision will be made by tomorrow afternoon about whether we make it a go for this Saturday or move it to April 7th.

 

Well... the elves did not do their job and magically improve the forecast overnight. So we have no choice but to move the Motori Italiani event to Saturday, April 7th. Note that I will reopen registration through Monday, April 2nd. If you can participate on the new date and haven't already signed up, please email me the following related to your Italian vehicle. Year/Make/Model/Colors.

[email protected]

Thanks!
- Kevin

 

With a worsening weather forecast for our makeup date, we're having to do something we've never done before. We're shifting the event to the next day, Sunday the 8th. At this point, this is our only choice other than to cancel the event entirely for this year.

Sunday, April 8th
11am - 3pm
131 Main Restaurant (Blakeney Location)

 

Whew! What an absolutely crazy time it's been these past few weeks... but in the end we pulled it off! As we've never before had both our original date and rain date ruined, we had to do something unprecedented (and quick) by moving the event from a Saturday to a Sunday. And it turned out to be the right move... Sunday was a bit chilly early on but with sunny blue skies throughout the day. Turnout remained very high and we had a great number of visitors throughout the afternoon.

And this could not have happened without some great efforts.

Jim Calandro with the US Desmo Club always does an amazing job getting the word out to the cyclists and bringing in registrations. This year he completely outdid himself with our largest number of motorcycle entries ever! Great examples from Ducati, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, MV Agusta, and more.

131 Main restaurant did us a HUGE favor by allowing the move to Sunday on very short notice. They really stepped up even with a smaller staff and saved the event from possible cancellation for this year.

Jay Britton and John Perry volunteered to arrive early (though they may say they were recruited) to get you checked in upon arrival.

We also had some great vendors:

Automotive International is always our sponsor for this gathering. They not only brought vehicles to the venue, but many of the cars you saw on display are maintained by their technicians as well. A number of which were on hand to discuss and answer questions related to a variety of models. 704-521-2886.

How many of you enjoyed the addition of music this year? That was provided by David Gold at Rolling Tones. He also installs high-end electronic upgrades for vehicles including K40 systems. 855-323-3330.

Vespa Charlotte is just now opening and was excited to let everyone know that there is now a full-service Vespa dealer in our area. 704-847-0333.

And now, the voting results:

Ferrari Classic 8-Cylinder:
Jeff Hillegass
1993 348ts Serie Speciale

Ferrari Modern 8-Cylinder
Dick Johnson
2017 488 Spider

Ferrari 12-Cylinder
Mark Mahoney
1967 330 GTC

Lamborghini
Sanjin Salihovic
2016 Huracan

Alfa Romeo
John Perry
1972 Montreal

Specialty Automobile
Gene Saalweachter
1977 Fiat Spider

Ducati
Troy Jacob
1981 Darmah

Speciatly Motorcycle
George Smith
2016 Moto Guzzi Verde Legnano

Ladies' Choice
Michael Jetzer
1967 Lamborghini P400 Miura

Best in Show
John Perry
1972 Alfa Romeo Montreal

Congratulations and a big thanks to all who came out and made this dicey year a success!!

Kevin Fielden
CAFE - Charlotte Area Ferrari Enthusiasts