For those of you brave enough to venture out into the pre-dawn, cold and crystal clear winter mornings to participate in the weekly event known as Cars&Coffee, your reward is twofold; not only are you assured of finding a great parking space, but you will be treated to an amazing light show, courtesy of the rising sun.  And what better object to capture the heart of the sunrise, than the contours and sheet metal found on your favorite make of car.

Obviously for me, Porsches illuminated by nothing more than the dawning light were an experience and photographic opportunity that I could not pass up. And it didn’t hurt to have a pair of willing subjects…

Nothing like coming face to face with a real factory built, right hand drive, fully restored 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS, backed by a 1991 Porsche 964 Turbo…

Moving over to Porsche row, I encountered a first time visitor to Cars&Coffee; a brand new, black 2013 Type 991 Porsche 911 Carrera, as seen below…

complete with discreet Martini graphics and black Ruf 5 spoke alloy wheels…

With the sun continuing to rise, I made my way over to the featured lot, which on this particular morning was home to one very rare, Ferrari 275 GTB/4…

According to my research, the Ferrari 275 GTB/4 was built from 1966-1968, with only 280 examples of the 275 GTB/4 (4 cam V 12 model) created.

Up front and positioned low within the chassis, resting beneath the front hood, was the Colombo, 4 cam 12 cylinder motor, complete with its six, dual choke Weber carburetors.

After shooting the Ferrari, it was time to explore, and look for my next photographic subject. Passing by Porsche row, I noticed that tucked in next to a silver 1957 Porsche 356 4 cam Carrera, was another German treasure, but not a Porsche. Instead, it was a pristine, beautifully restored blue 1965 Volkswagen Type 3 Notchback, as seen below.

In keeping with the Porsche theme, at least the Notchback rolled on a set of Porsche 5 spoke Fuchs alloy wheels; up front, on what appeared to be a set of the increasingly rare and hard to find, 4.5 X 15’s, and on the rear, a set of the wider 6 X 15’s.

Once again, Audi was well represented, with a bevy of R8’s scattered throughout the parking lot, each acting as a canvas, displaying some incredible early morning hood art…

As I completed another lap of the parking lot in search of additional photographic subjects, returning to my starting point on Porsche row, I came across two non-Porsches flanking the red Speedster as seen below. Parked to its right was a green Chevrolet Chevelle muscle car, and to the left, a Fly yellow Ferrari F430 Scuderia.

A quick once over of the Ferrari revealed an abundance of carbon fiber pieces as well as what appeared to be a custom exhaust system. (This assumption was confirmed when the owner returned, fired up the car and drove away; definitely not a stock sounding F430 exhaust).

Even the side mirrors had received the Carbon fiber treatment as seen below…

So should you feel motivated to get up early on a Saturday morning to attend Cars&Coffee, you too will be greeted by some spectacular cars and views similar to the one above. Let’s just hope for a dry, rain free weekend…

(All photos by the author)