JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Car enthusiasts got a treat Sunday on Jacksonville’s Southbank.
Up to 50 exotic cars were on display on RiverPlace Boulevard.
Longtime Jacksonville car dealer, Hanania Automotive Group, felt inspired to put on a special show for the first time.
The sound of exotic and classic cars revving their engines is what reeled in people like Natasha Christie. She is a self-proclaimed car enthusiast, who happened to stumble upon the showcase in the group’s parking garage.
“This one feels more like sort of come as you are,” Christie said of the car show. “You can just be walking down the street and you can just come as you are. I just walked in. It is very welcoming.”
Hanania Automotive Group put some of its exotic and classic car inventory on display for the first time at what was called the “Riverwalk Rev Fest.”
Vice president Jack Hanania, Jr. says there is a big demand for things like this.
“When they turn on the car, and they hear the exhaust rumble, you cannot replace that,” Hanania, Jr. said. You see all of the excitement with people, revving their engines, and starting the vehicles. It is pretty thrilling.”
Dozens of classic and rare cars were on display, ranging from Audis to Ferraris and even Lamborghinis.
There was a 2023 Lamborghini Huracan, STO that got a lot attention. It is a specialty edition between 2021 and 2023. One of the most notable features included carbon fiber characteristics. It had 640 horsepower. That specialty Lamborghini could cost nearly half a million dollars.
Dylan Lane owns a unique Mercedes-AMG C63. He rigged this camera on the back of it.
“This is a passion project I started in college,” Lane said. “I just really wanted to film cars. I went to college during COVID-19 pandemic. There was nothing to do. I needed an outlet.”
Hanania, Jr. says the group sold more than 300 exotic cars within the last year.
It has sold more than 100 since January.
Several people at the car show say events like that drive home the point that the automotive community is tightly knit.
“Honestly some of my best friends in the whole world I met by coming to events like this,” Lane said. “It is really fun to see people get excited about it. It kind of reminds me of how I felt, and how everything flowed for me when I started.”
“It is just to see your car and just something draws you to that particular car,” Christie said of what sparked her interest in cars.
It is a passion that seems to be around to stay.