Many people say that the car hobby is not really about the cars but about the people who own them. No concours event that I can think of better demonstrates that than the Chattanooga Motorcar Festival.
The event was the brainchild of Byron DeFore and Brian Johnson. From the very start, their focus was different. Instead of being held on the traditional golf course, it is held in the downtown area of Chattanooga. Some people like seeing cars on a golf course, but, personally, seeing them in a well-displayed, curated fashion on downtown streets (a more natural environment for them) is something special.
The three-day Chattanooga Motorcar Festival started on Friday, October 11 with a small gathering of cars, seminars with people such as Patrick Long and Jeff Zwart, live music, and vendors.
Saturday featured a gathering of car clubs, the first fully set up day of the Porsche-focused Luftgekühlt, a fantastic curated Ferrari display with scores of cars, and an amazing exhibition of Jaguar cars from all eras of the marque’s history. Just seeing Luftgekühlt in this condensed version is worth the trip to Chattanooga.
In addition, there were multiple seminars discussing historic racing with special celebrity guests. Those included Grand Marshall David Hobbs, Lyn St. James, Jochen Maas, and more. The day’s events culminated with a live band and dancing in the streets.
Sunday held the biggest event of the festival: the Concours D’ Elegance. This year, it consisted of models from every category of car collecting and totaled almost 200 vehicles. There were incredible cars in every class. I was personally involved with helping put together the BMW class, one which I was also asked to judge. The class included a 1934 BMW 315, 1970 1600-2 Cabriolet, 1971 2800CS, 1989 735i, 1998 323is, 2001 Z3 M Roadster, and 2003 Z8. While putting the class together, I had the opportunity to talk with some old friends and make several new ones.
This continued throughout the weekend. Friday, I spent time with my friend Forrest Bennett (we hung out all weekend), David Hobbs, Chairman Ken Gross, and so many others.
It was the same all weekend, no matter what was going on. This concours, partly because it was all at a single site, allowed so many opportunities to just spend time with friends, make new ones, and even see many of them as panelists at seminars.
Like any concours, the one at the Chattanooga Motorcar Festival gave out various awards. I feel the other judges and I got it right. In my BMW class, the winners were my pal Scott Hughes with his 1934 315 and my new friend Robert Johns, who owns a stunning 78,000-mile and somehow-still-perfect 2003 Z8.
The deserving Best of Show winner was one of the most elegant cars on the field: a 1934 Swallow Sidecar (Jaguar before Jaguar was a brand) owned by Eduardo Zavala. It is a gorgeous car that was originally owned by world famous tango performer Ada Falcón.
The Chattanooga Motorcar Festival is a truly special event filled with amazing cars and so many wonderful people. It has something for everyone, from the celebrity panels to the auction to the live music each day and night. Heck, there is dancing in the streets as a part of the schedule. If you have yet to attend this great event, be sure to put it on your calendar for 2025. You may go the first time for the cars, but you will go back because of the people.
