Danville Street Sighting - 2001 Qvale Mangusta

I've had a subscription to Motor Trend magazine for over fifteen years. One of the first issues I remember receiving, November 2000, featured a nine-way comparison of sports cars. It was the first time I ever saw mention of an unusual Italian car called the Qvale Mangusta. In my Need For Speed-fueled childhood the Porsche 911 Turbo, Corvette Z06, Dodge Viper, Ferrari 360, BMW Z8, Mustang Cobra R, Shelby Series 1, Pontiac Trans Am and the like, made total sense to me. But the test also featured a red car with very odd styling and a bubbly retractable hardtop. It had a 4.6 liter Ford V8 producing 320 horsepower, a five-speed manual and a small back seat.

Pleasanton Street Sighting - 1988 Lotus Esprit Turbo

One of the first cars I photographed for this blog was a red 1988 Lotus Esprit. Now here's another. For some reason all the Esprits I find parked on the street seem to be red, as this is our third one. It's a very nice one, too.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1972 Dino 246 GT

Let's start the new year off right, shall we?

One of my favorite events each year in San Francisco is Fleet Week, the second week in October when the U.S. Navy brings in an assortment of ships and the Blue Angels aerobatic team performs above the Bay for thousands of thrilled spectators. This latest Fleet Week air show fell on October 12, Columbus Day. North Beach has a large Italian population and the city holds an Italian Heritage parade on Columbus Day. When leaving the city after the air show, my friend and I spotted this dark red Dino 246 GT parked on Columbus Avenue. Incidentally, my friend is a huge fan of 246 GTs, so it was a perfect find for both of us.

Sacramento Street Sighting - 2003 Lamborghini Murciélago 40th Anniversary Edition

I don't usually feature modern exotic sports cars. I might take a picture or two but rarely do I stop and do a full shoot. The typical Ferrari F430, Lamborghini Gallardo or Lotus Elise just doesn't get me excited. A Murcielago? Eh, maybe. I'm more likely to stop and do a photo shoot of a Ford Pinto than the most cliched Lambo of the 2000s. If I'm going to shoot a Murcielago, it had better have some presence.

This one has presence.

I was exploring Sacramento after visiting the California State Auto Museum and passed this striking Lamborghini parked on a street. I promptly pulled a U-turn and parked so I could photograph it.

Danville Street Sighting - 1972 Ferrari 365 GTC/4

Months ago I asked my readers for their thoughts about cars parked near car shows. Thus far, about 20% have responded that they don't think such a vehicle is eligible for a feature or that some limitation should be in place. So I limited myself to one of those per month so it doesn't dilute the rest of my sightings. It may be cheating, perhaps, but it does at least ensure something more interesting than a beat-up Falcon or a cookie-cutter Camaro. In this case, I snagged a Ferrari 365 GTC/4.

Livermore Street Sighting - 1996 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport

It's time to have a look at another car spotted near a car show, this time a modern classic: a 1996 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport. I don't normally photograph C4 generation Corvettes in depth, but the Grand Sport special edition stands out from the rest. By 1996 the C4 body shell was getting very long in the tooth despite all the facelifting done over twelve years of production. Chevy chose to wind down the final model year of the C4 with this blue bullet, of which only 1000 copies were built. It came with the optional 330 hp LT4 V8 and a six-speed manual transmission.

Danville Street Sighting - 1969 Ferrari 365 GT 2+2

I wish I could say that my first classic Ferrari feature was a genuine case of catching Uncle Pennybags on a run to the shops for bread and milk, but alas, this car was parked near a car show. I spotted it parked on the street quite literally just around the corner from the Danville Concours d'Elegance last year. The d'Elegance is a fantastic charity car show put on every September to benefit Parkinson's research and usually attracts some well-heeled car owners, either to enter their cars in the show or to just stop by and check out what's on display.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1995 Lotus Esprit S4s

Rounding out '90s Supercar Week is this 1995 Lotus Esprit S4s, an edition I didn't know existed until I saw it parked just around the corner from the 1973 AMC Gremlin I featured during '70s Economy Car Week. I've always been fond of the 1990s Esprits; from most angles they just look "right" to me. I know they're parts bin cars cobbled from other manufacturers' components, and the basic design dates back to the '70s when the Gremlin was still being built and Roger Moore was still James Bond. The Esprit is just a cool sports car.

San Ramon Street Sighting - 1995 Ferrari 456 GT

Long before I started California Streets, I occasionally found myself photographing cars from several angles and later came to the realization that I could use those pictures for car features. This 1995 Ferrari 456 GT is a curious creature. Ferrari in recent years has rarely been known for their front-engined offerings, except perhaps the 599 Fiorano. So many supercars are mid-engined, it seems the way to go if you want speed without sacrificing neutral handling. So what do you call this? Not only is it front-engined, but it has a back seat! Yes, a four-seater, "family" Ferrari - a formula not tried since the mid-engined V8 Mondial and front-engined V12 400i series of the eighties. Neither of those cars are considered among Ferrari's best offerings. The 456 is a proper V12 grand tourer with looks to match. Its design appears a bit dated now, as pop-up headlights are a bit passe (the 2003 456M GT was the last Ferrari to use pop-ups, and I still like them) and the 17-inch wheels look positively tiny by modern standards. But the 456 was one of my favorite cars in the Nintendo 64 game Cruisin' World and is still a good-looking car. I also am very fond of the metallic burgundy color, which I believe is called Rosso Rubino. The nicks in the paint are unfortunate, but I'm glad to see it's been driven and hopefully enjoyed as a V12 Ferrari should.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1999 Lamborghini Diablo VT Roadster

As a boy growing up in the 1990s, I had my share of supercar posters. Porsche 993, Ferrari F355. I collected models of my favorites as well, some of the more stratified exotics. Ferrari F50, Jaguar XJ220, Dodge Viper RT/10. But few came close to the Lamborghini Diablo in terms of insane performance, instant name recognition and sheer curb presence. It was to the schoolboy of the '90s what its older brother, the Countach, was to the kids of the '80s.