First, when I went slowly in, I was greeted; they not only acknowledged my existence, but offered me water, which I politely declined. Second, the man who greeted me, Phil Bono, said he was happy to let me walk around and take as many pictures as I felt necessary. Unfortunately, due to it being mid-day, the Florida sun bouncing off shiny cars wasn't very kind to my camera. I still had an amazing time, though. Seeing everything from a Corvette ZR-1 to a row of Murcielagos.. wow.. I honestly had to make sure I was standing in a room full of the finest new-generation exotics that money could buy, and not just simply dreaming.
I saw a rather fine selection of cars; over in one corner sat the two lone American cars,and each wall was lined with Ferraris in excess. I counted the basic evolution of the V8 Ferrari, starting with the 355, and ending with a new 458. Lamborghinis were accounted for as well, but since the inventory consisted of Gallardos and a couple Murcielagos, I took a quick pic of my favorite Lambo there.
One of my favorite modern semi-exotic cars is the BMW Z8; while its design harks back to the original 507, built between 1955 and 1957, the execution is a definite throwback to the cars heyday. Unlike the faux-retro muscle cars that are quick to rise on the scene today, the Z8 was around long before any retro Mustang had been ever thought of, nevermind the 2010 Camaro or Dodge Challenger. While these muscle cars are grossly overstyled, the Z8 simply works. To the average car fan, the Z8 looks thoroughly modern; if you know your BMW history, you will clearly see the heritage behind the skin And at roughly $100k, these things aren't exactly cheap. To be honest, I have seen my fair share of these rare Bimmers, but they never cease to amaze me.
Next up is Ferrari's new 458; I'd seen a couple of these, and since these are relatively new to me, I took a few pictures. I'll be frank; red on a Ferrari is quite lame. I rather like these in a bevy of other colors. While I will not frown on a red Ferrari, Tour de France blue is a more more suited color; deep, rich, and can be luxurious or sporty, depending on how you dress up our Ferrari's interior and exterior trim.
Another one of my favorites, and for no explicable reason-- the Corvette ZR-1. I despise the Corvette for the most part. They're driven by old people, they are often seen in droves in terrible, cliche colors, and almost every single one I see is snail-pacing in traffic. But for some reason, I like the upper-crust versions of America's Sports Car. The ZR-1 fixes everything I loathe about the base car-- horsepower is up to a rather healthy 638, it can do 200+ out of the box, and it has a see through hood. It's got bigger wheels, bigger brakes, a tasteful lip spoiler and fender extensions, and it will keep pace with cars costing three times as much. But it's still a Corvette-- except it's one I actually like.
This was definitely my favorite car at this particular dealer; I've had an automotive hard-on for the special edition 911s as long as I can remember; the added performance sure helps, no doubt, but I am easily attracted to bright (and garish) colors. When Porsche introduced the hardcore GT3RS version of the 997, I instantly fell in love. Even though these have been out since late 2006, I haven't seen many at all. I am head over hells for any of the GT3RS, but I would love to see the green and black one. So far, this silver and orange combo is the hottest modern Porsche 911-based car I have witnessed in person. And that will stand until I see one on 911 Classic wheels or the infamous green and black GT3RS.
I had an amazing time at Naples Motorsports, and the staff was incredibly nice. I say the one dealership alone rested my fears of stepping inside exotic dealers. I had an awesome time here, and would not hesitate to go back again. Great cars, great location, and great staff. If I had the means, I would definitely buy a car from Naples Motorsports.
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