An Extravagant Affair: Conversation with Joe Sabatini, Founder of Festivals of Speed Miami

Festivals of Speed Miami roars onto the lawns of Bayfront Park with an exclusive lineup of the world's finest exotic cars, motorcycles, aircraft, yachts and luxury lifestyle products — all benefiting the Injured Officers Assistance Fund. Premier Guide Miami sat down to find out what that means — and what comes next.

Festivals of Speed Miami, benefiting the Injured Officers Assistance Fund, roared onto the lawns of Bayfront Park on Sunday, November 15, 2009, with an exclusive lineup of the world’s finest exotic cars, motorcycles, aircraft, yachts, and luxury lifestyle products. As a prelude to the main event, there was an exclusive Yacht Hop reception where guests enjoyed fine cuisine, champagne, fine wines, and premium cocktails while perusing the magnificent displays.

Premier Guide Miami tracked down the man solely responsible for this extravagance. Joe Sabatini is the founder of Festivals of Speed — a combination of an exotic-car show and luxury lifestyle products display. We found Joe on the docks at the Epic Marina making last-minute preparations for his big Miami event, the first of many to come. As expected, he was multi-tasking: giving directions and talking to us at the same time, keeping the flow of things.

How did you manage to come up with such a fitting name for this event?

Festivals of Speed was started about six years ago and it just seemed like a perfect name for an event like this. It really is a festival and everything here goes fast, so it’s kind of natural. There is actually an event overseas in England, the Goodwood Festival of Speed — it seems like minds think alike.

Why have you chosen the Injured Officers Assistance Fund as the charity to support?

For two reasons. First and foremost it is a great cause and it’s locally based — although it’s a statewide charity, the Injured Officers Assistance Fund was founded and started right here in Miami. Secondly, one of the main car collectors I’ve dealt with over the years is the gentleman who founded it, Mr. Michael Fux — a local businessman, very generous, who has donated to a lot of charities. He founded this after coming across an officer who was wounded and realized that additional funds were needed to help these men and women out. I just thought it was a natural fit. There are a lot of great charities here, and I felt we would start with this one.

What were some of the challenges you faced in putting together Festivals of Speed Miami?

Nothing major. Just like everything else, it’s a lot of coordination, and it’s really a good group of people with a lot of good camaraderie. The different car clubs bring out their owners and members, and the dealers come out and show the latest and greatest. It just takes some logistics and planning — no major challenges. You’ve got to take your time, that’s about it.

Miami is famous for many things, including flashy cars and a high-end lifestyle. Why did you think this was an appropriate venue?

We added Miami after doing Orlando, St. Petersburg, New York, and California, because Miami and South Florida is the epicenter of exotic cars in the country. Pretty much Florida and California are the main car centers, and this is long overdue. We’ve had a lot of people down here asking us to come. It is the perfect venue, perfect weather, and almost an unlimited amount of exotic cars to invite.

We recently hosted the Miami Auto Show, which featured antique as well as other exotic brands. Do you think you can top such an event? What makes Festivals of Speed different or unique?

We go way beyond that, actually, because we don’t just show a standard brand-new Rolls-Royce Phantom, Bentley, or Ferrari. At my last event, Festivals of Speed Orlando, they air-freighted four cars from France and Germany to be on sale at the event. This is a pristine, high-line event attended predominantly by high-net-worth individuals who are true gear heads. We tend to get some very special and unique cars — including things you would never or rarely see at a typical auto show. We get serious vintage cars, $5 to $10 million worth of Ferraris and Lamborghinis. It’s not a challenge to top a typical auto show.

How has the response been so far?

Phenomenal. People love it. I’m here at the Epic Hotel right now watching all the yachts park, and you can’t keep people away — between the yachts and the exotic cars, they are just totally enjoying the whole scenario.

What do you hope to accomplish from this event?

Really the main goal is to raise a lot of funds — 100% of the proceeds goes to the charity. And frankly, I want everyone to come together, whether they are high-net-worth individuals or just a young girl or boy who has that sparkle in their eyes for an exotic car. Everyone has a great, beautiful day in Bayfront Park. November weather in Miami — you can’t beat it. I just really want everyone to have a good time.

So tell me — how many of these luxury vehicles do you actually own?

I don’t own any of these exotic vehicles. I have them for the events, but that’s just it. Unfortunately I do not have a garage for those Rolls-Royces, Phantoms, Lamborghinis, and Ferraris — as much as I would like to have them. Maybe one day, but not now.

What do you own?

The car I drive as a sports car would be one of the new Corvettes — an affordable daily driver that I can easily maintain. My tire changes don’t cost me $40,000, so I’m very happy about that. I’ve got two sons in college and another one on the way, so I’m pretty happy.

Tickets for the Festivals of Speed Miami receptions were available for purchase in advance online, and for the Sunday event on site at Bayfront Park. Sunday tickets were $20.00 per person, with children under 12 entering free. VIP Packages were also available. For more information, visit www.festivalsofspeed.com.

For more upcoming events across South Florida, visit the Premier Guide Miami Events Calendar.