Ultra-luxury cars are star of this weekend's Festivals of Speed

If you've wondered how the other half lives, then you might be especially interested in how the other one-half of 1 percent lives. That's how Joe Sabatini of Lake County makes his living. Sabatini runs the Festivals of Speed, a combination of an exotic-car show and luxury lifestyle display that's taking place this weekend at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes. There also are two exclusive preliminary events being held tonight and Saturday and a general show Sunday. "We bring together a luxury lifestyle weekend based heavily on the automotive enthusiast and also surrounded by motorcycles, airplanes and, when we're near water, yachts," Sabatini said. The first Festival of Speed was in 2004 in St. Petersburg, he said, "and we've been back every year. We've been in Orlando for four years, and we've just added Miami." It started as a hobby, Sabatini said, "just to put events together with other car guys. And I realized that the more parties we did, the more expense there was to it, and I said to a friend that I probably needed to try and get a sponsor." That friend helped him get Ferrari, "and it just grew from there." Holding the events is now a full-time job for Sabatini, 45, who used to be in marketing and advertising. Those who display at the show, and who attending the preliminaries, are generally well-heeled. "Typically, we don't do mass marketing, so we get a niche crowd. We get real gear heads who love to collect classic cars," Sabatini said. "Some of them have multimillion-dollar collections. Some of them have a single $100,000 car or a $50,000 restored domestic. It's really more about the camaraderie and not so much about the money, but we tend to get a very high net-worth individual." Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the main event, to which everyone is invited, takes place on the manicured grounds of the Ritz. Tickets for the main car show Sunday cost $12 for adults, and kids 12 and under are free. For more information, log onto FestivalsofSpeed.com. Sabatini, who runs Festivals of Speed from his office in Eustis, has always been a car guy. "My wife just showed me a picture in an old photo album — I was 8 years old, and I was wearing a Ferrari shirt." His personal car: a Chevrolet Corvette. "Joe knows what he's doing," said Monte Patterson, sales manager for Ultimate Motor Works in Longwood, which sells Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce and Bentley. "He knows how to give his sponsors, and his guests, what they want." The Festival weekend starts tonight with a reception at a jetport, with airplanes, exotic cars and bikes, plus a strolling saxophonist, an open bar and a silent auction that benefits Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children. High-rollers will have the opportunity to inspect fine jewelry, premium cigars, luxury motor homes and watches that cost as much as a condominium. Saturday night, there's a wine dinner at Norman's at the Ritz-Carlton. Once the five- to seven-course meal ends, "guests will enjoy a selection of fine cognac and scotch on the terrace where a selection of the world's finest cigars will await them," says the promotional material. Seating is, as they say, limited. Sabatini said the Sunday show will feature the expected exotics — Bugattis, Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Rolls-Royces — plus rare and restored antiques, including racing cars. The vehicles on display are there by invitation only. "We're expecting about 160 cars, which is about all we can handle," Sabatini said. " Florida is a mecca for the exotic-car enthusiast. There are so many exotic cars here." Some of the cars on display, though, are coming from as far away as the West Coast. With the three Florida events established, Sabatini is planning on taking the Festivals of Speed concept to California, and then New York. Plans have been slowed some by the economy, he said. "We feel it mostly in sponsor dollars. Mostly from the domestic manufacturers — it's difficult for them to sponsor anything," he said. "The high-end niche is still out there, and it's very focused. Those companies need to be here, and they do well with our audience. But as for us, like so many people today, we're working three times as hard to make the same amount of money." Sentinel Automotive Editor Steven Cole Smith can be reached at scsmith@orlandosentinel.com, at 407-420-5699, or through his blog at Enginehead.com.