Pocketbooks, start your $170,000 engines

You may want to fill up too. Crystal Cove gathering allows car nuts to show off and to dream -- big.Park in the lot at the Crystal Cove Promenade any day of the week and you’ll likely be surrounded by a few fancy automobiles. But visit the same parking lot between 7 and 9 a.m. on a Saturday and you’ll see dozens of the rarest, most expensive cars in the world.

Lamborghinis, Porsches, Mustangs. They’re all there -- souped up Dodge Neons and a Ferrari for sale with an asking price of $170,000.

“This is just amazing, the amount of money in cars that are sitting here,” said Craig Reynolds of Newport Beach.

Although the price tag on many of these cars could cause sticker shock, the allure is more than superficial.

Whether showing up to show off a car or just to drool over someone else’s, everyone has one thing in common: a love for cars.

“I think the bottom line to all this is the passion that can be felt and expressed by those that show up and those that bring their cars to show,” Reynolds said.

Attendees and participants at Saturday’s event estimated that the unofficial show has been going on for three years.

“Nobody puts it on; nobody pays; you leave when you want,” said Newport Beach Harbor Commission Vice-Chairman Ralph Rodheim, who was there displaying his 1991 BMW 850.

At bright-and-early 7 a.m. Saturday, the parking lot was bursting with onlookers and showoffs. The occasional rev of a high-powered engine filled the air, and crowds parted to watch an eye-catching car pull into a parking spot.

“It’s like no place on the planet,” Rodheim said. “My wife doesn’t even like cars and she likes coming down here.”Regulars say it’s the wide array of makes and models that has made the show so popular.

“There’s a large variety down here, a little bit of everything,” said Mike Riley of Upland.

Standing in front of a long row of red Ferraris, Riley said he comes to the show to see cars that “you usually only see in magazines.” Dale Dean of Las Vegas comes to the show at least once a month with friends. He leaves his own 1969 Corvette at home and comes to check out other classics.

“My friends, they like the new stuff. I like the old stuff,” Dean said. “There’s something here for everyone.”While the show surely boasts an impressive variety of cars, it also caters to a variety of ages. Newport Beach resident Bill Hemphill said he usually brings his son, 2-year-old Pierce, with him to the show.

“It’s a good thing for he and I to do on a Saturday morning,” Hemphill said.

Piece is “your average 2-year-old car nut,” Hemphill said.

The toddler already knows a thing or two about cars. When his dad asked him what his favorite car is, Pierce replied confidently.

“M-5,” he said, holding his dad’s hand and chewing on a Starbucks cup.

A BMW, that is.

20060108isqyioncMARK DUSTIN / DAILY PILOT(LA)Robert Gagnebin of Irvine checks out the power plant under a Dodge Viper’s hood at Crystal Cove Promenade on Saturday.