We recently spent some time in Miami with a sumptuous McLaren GT, wearing a unique MSO orange paint job and silver ten-spoke wheels. A deadly combination for the British supercar. The speed and agility of McLaren's most useable supercar were better felt in the UK where we drove the car last, if only because of the famous British B-roads that go on for miles without a cop in sight. We got our track-driving fix at Miami's exclusive Concours Club, but supercars are meant to be shared with the world.

So we joined Cars & Coffee Palm Beach and gained a newfound respect for this beautifully simple concept.

Is it just us, or does it feel like the war against internal combustion has become more ferocious over the past five years?

In addition to the current administration and certain states doing the most to rid the world of exploding dinosaur juice, car lovers often have to deal with the neighborhood Karen constantly moaning about an aftermarket exhaust despite using a giant seven-seat V8 SUV to drop one 47-inch second grader at school.

The above is the main reason why the concept of Cars & Coffee has grown in leaps and bounds. Almost every major city in the USA has a monthly C&C. Even in California, which was the first state to announce the banning of new ICE sales by 2035, these events are large enough to bring parts of a city to a standstill.

C&C Palm Beach recently celebrated its 9-year anniversary. What a big difference almost a decade makes. In 2012, Lexus introduced the Nurburgring Package for the LFA, Aston Martin forced its NA V12 under the hood of the V8 Roadster, the Chevy Camaro ZL1 returned after 42 years, and Lotus introduced the V6 Exige. All these manufacturers are now in the process of going electric. Alas, it's not the point of the article.

The point is to discuss the safe haven provided by Cars & Coffee. And we really do mean safe haven. We now live in a world where a person can get fined for having a stock exhaust.

Cars & Coffee is a safe space for those with gas running through their veins. Instead of staring and rude gestures, pitching up in a decent whip at C&C will get you a compliment from an admirer.

You can also indulge your nerdy side by finding another McLaren owner to discuss recent developments. Is the new bored-out twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 more responsive than the 3.8-liter twice-turbocharged V8 in the 675 LT? After all, the latter has bespoke camshafts, turbochargers, and software...

Once that's done, you can walk around handing out compliments of your own. We love that C&C is not just a supercar and hypercar event, though they do turn up in droves. There are several less powerful but no less striking cars to look at. We found a beautiful yellow VW Beetle with whitewall tires and a surfboard on top.

There were also several Italian beauties from the past two decades. Is it just us, or do the Ferrari F430 and Lamborghini Gallardo look better now than they ever did when they were new? Look, there's a Mazda RX-7 with gold wheels. Check out the restomod Bronco. Over there's an Abarth 500.

Each of these cars is a potential discussion waiting to happen. Before you've even realized it, you've gone down a deep rabbit hole discussing the merits of the rotary engine.

It's tough to pick a favorite, but we eventually settled on a first-generation Nissan Skyline GT-R. The current model is an aggressive beast. There were several in attendance, and they ooze aggression. This particular first-gen model is finished in a dark green, almost black hue with chrome inserts. It's likely nowhere near as fast as a 2022 Nissan GT-R, but in terms of looks and charisma, it decimates its grandson.

What stands out most is that the level of appreciation is the same across the board. A C&C event is likely the only place on the planet where you can discuss a matte green Infiniti Q50 and then move on to one of the several limited-edition Ford GTs.

It's a giant hive of car lovers partaking in the oldest and possibly most satisfying parts of owning a car - standing around, having a chat, quoting power figures, admiring the quality of the welds on an aftermarket radiator, and generally just speaking a language that non-car people will never understand.

If you want to get involved in the next meet, this weekend the Cars & Coffee Palm Beach 9th Annual Trunk or Treat Halloween Spooktacular Event is taking place at Tanger Outlets Palm Beach on October 16.

Special thanks to Revving Pixel for supplying some of these fantastic pictures.