A week after Texas Whip Fest, I had the opportunity to attend the first Carchella Car Show in Atlanta. DJ Envy decided to start having car shows in the metro New York area, but they were called the Drive Your Dreams Car Show but he decided to rebrand it as the Carchella Car Show since it's still a car show, but it's more family friendly with entertainment for kids. And on July 3rd, the first show under the Carchella name was held at the Georgia World Congress Center.
I've been to a lot of car shows and honestly, Carchella is extremely family friendly (Thank goodness I wasn't subjected to seeing twerking on the back of a pickup truck or on a stage, like at most car shows). There's a lot of cars, however, there's also entertainment for kids as well, so changing the name to Carchella was a better move. Between the rides, games, face painting, rock climbing, and double dutch, the kids (and most of the adults) were having a good time in the entertainment section of the show.
I've attended Envy's show in Jersey in September 2019 (which was his last show prior to this one due to the Panamera), and I knew what to expect since the cars would reflect what was popular in Jersey (exotics, luxury, and tuner/imports). I wasn't sure what to expect for this show since it was his first in Atlanta, but I trusted the fact that it is Envy putting on this show. Most importantly, Atlanta is in DESPERATE need of a radio station sponsored car show since the V-103 Car and Bike Show hasn't been a good car show in many, many years. Carchella can easily fill that void.
So what did I see? I'm so glad you asked. We're going to start from the front... or I should say the stage to the back.
I walked in, turned the corner and saw the giant letters that light up that spelled Carchella... Now behind the letters was Envy's Aston Martin DBS.
Once I walked behind the DBS, I saw the celebrity car area.... and might I add, the cars actually belonged to the celebrities. I told you the V-103 Car and Bike Show traumatized me. First up was Lil Baby and some of his cars which includes...
Lamborghini Urus, McLaren 765 LT, Custom blue wrapped Mercedes Benz Barbus G800 on Forgiato Wheels, Chevy Bel Air, Rolls Royce Cullinan Black Badge and more.
Next... 50 Cent's custom wrapped Versace print Lamborghini Aventador.
DJ Drama parked his Mercedes GLS 600 Maybach on the red carpet as well.
Parked next to Drama's Maybach was more of Envy's personal cars- including the rare G Wagon cabriolet (note... this is the actual cabriolet edition, not the regular G wagon that was cut into a cabriolet.), the rare Mercedes SLR McLaren, Porsche 918 Spyder, and the Rolls Royce Cullinan.
The person who had the most fun at Carchella, Dwight Howard, brought his Mercedes G Wagon 6x6, which is something that I haven't really seen in Atlanta. This was the second time I've seen one in Atlanta. Normally I'll see them on the West Coast. Side note on Dwight Howard, I mentioned that he had the most fun at Carchella because he stopped by and had a long line of people waiting to take photos with him. That line was long and every time I walked by that line, it had gotten longer and longer. But I will say, he was super personable with everyone.
Super bittersweet to see this vehicle. I wanted to see it, but I didn't want to see it for the same reason of it carried DMX's casket from Yonkers to Brooklyn.
I wished that 2 Chainz' unique truck was parked to where you could do a 360 around it.
Finally from my favorite car obsessed rapper Curren$y brought a couple of cars from his collection- just a couple. You know he has waaaayyyyyy more vehicles than this.
On the other side was the other red carpet area where there were some cars I've seen around Atlanta... along with cars that came from New York to be a part of the show (*whispers* some of those cars were purchased from Long Island).
The "Paid In Full" section is the section that I always struggle with because I'm just not knowledgable about the cars that are in that genre. In a nutshell, this section is dedicated to the cars that were most popular/desired during the late 80's that were definitely playing the Paid In Full album by Eric B and Rakim. So to introduce everyone to the Paid in Full section, a pair of ultra rare BMW M3s were parked in front- the one to the left belongs to Envy and the one to the right belongs to Coach K of Quality Control Music.
Behind the M3s were pristine classic cars. Classic Mercedes, Porsches, BMWs, and I actually spotted a Saab. The majority of the vehicles in this section was courtesy of the BBS Boys and Uptown Car Club.... however....
The last vehicle that Envy shipped was his BMW 850i was parked in this section and it was parked next to Ludacris' beloved 1993 Acura Legend. But my favorite vehicle that was parked in the Paid in Full section was....
DJ Thoro's Mercedes Benz E320. I am unapologetically biased so when I find tribute vehicles to my favorite rapper of all time, they're automatically my favorite. I wished I could have gotten closer, but this E320 is on BBS Wheels with black leather and Coogi accented interior, two pillows wrapped in Coogi print with the first line from the song "Juicy" printed on them. I will see this car again.
In the second room, Lincoln Tech, who is the main sponsor of the show, had a big display to inform everyone about their college as well as the different courses of study that they offer.
Prior to July 3rd, I didn't know that New York has a racing team and the pit crew was showing everyone how fast they can change tires. They make it look so easy.
Sistas With Jeeps showed up and showed out with various customized Jeep Wranglers.
And finally, I wanted to mention another influential area of the show. The guys of the Earn Your Leisure podcast turned their area into a pop-up shop mixed with a meet and greet but surrounded by luxury cars. Within their booth, they had a couple of Lamborghini Huracans, a Lamborghini Urus, McLaren 570s, a couple of Rolls Royce Wraiths (wasn't a fan of the pink one. Color was just wrong), Royce Royce Cullinan and a softer pink Bentley Bentayga (the Bentley shade of pink is for more complimentary, it's almost like a mauve/dusty rose). Either way, Earn Your Leisure can teach you how to have a lifestyle where you can make enough money to own one of these cars... and pay for the maintenance.
To look at the rest of the photos, check out Bernie's 2021 Carchella Car Show: Atlanta gallery.
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