Cowboy hat and diamonds offer peek at VIP party scene in the D
Invitation only: 90-day countdown event previews 2026 Detroit Auto Show and what's to come for local charities
Guests began streaming into the invitation-only party on a weekday night, each turning keys over to a valet at the entrance. Private parking isn’t an option on property filled with millions of dollars in Ferrari sports cars.
The private invitation recommended: Dress to Impress
You couldn’t miss the Christian Louboutin red-sole pumps or Stuart Weitzman over-the-knee boot. Men wore Prada T-shirts and Ralph Lauren tuxedos.
Bartenders poured Ferrari Brut sparkling wine, also offered traditional red and white wines plus tiny bottles of sparkling water. Toscano cigars made with a blend of Italian and Kentucky tobacco were lined neatly on a table in boxes, inspiring men and women to sample the flavors outside on an upstairs patio of Cauley Ferrari on this Oct. 9 evening. Models wore curated selections from Saks Fifth Avenue — known for Gucci, Dior, Vuitton, Chanel, Burberry and Akris.
Flames danced in the fireplace beside a sparkling display of Giorgio Conti custom necklaces, earrings, bracelets and broaches that sparkled with diamonds, emeralds and rubies— the show-stopper being a $121,000 tennis necklace from the Ferndale jeweler, an unbroken string of diamonds designed like a string of pearls. The “tennis” reference refers to champion Chris Evert, who stopped her U.S. Open match in 1978 to search the court for the bracelet, an unbroken string of diamonds, that had fallen off her wrist.
Music filled the background as conversation hummed in the foreground.
“This scene is so glamorous and happy. It feels like Art Basel in Detroit. Look at the talent here,” said Jacqueline Williams of Birmingham, referring to the creative annual contemporary art fair that began in Basel, Switzerland in 1970 and has spread to Paris, Miami Beach and Hong Kong. “It feels like there’s more opportunity in Detroit now than New York, Chicago or Los Angeles. I just moved back from LA.”
The theme of the night: Velocità + Stile — Italian for “speed and style.”
The energetic vibe is strong in Detroit, said Owen Davenport of Ferndale, a sculptor at General Motors. He talked of the Motor City as a place that merges heritage with originality. “We don’t copy others.”
Detroit is officially counting down to the 2026 Detroit Auto Show and its VIP preview events, with 90 days left until everyone from blue collar workers to C-suite execs and tourists from around the world gather at Huntington Place downtown.
This Ferrari party in West Bloomfield unfolded as a run-up to The Gallery showcase on Tuesday, Jan. 13, an evening designed for collectors and car design enthusiasts that spotlight high-performance exotic sports cars such as Ferrari, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Bentley and Maserati. The Charity Preview on Friday, Jan. 16 is a formal VIP event known colloquially as the auto prom.
Creating special experiences at the auto show each year is part of a campaign to strategically increase momentum heading into January, to remind Detroiters of what’s coming, Sam Klemet, executive director of the Detroit Auto Show, told Shifting Gears.
“I want people leaving the Ferrari party saying, ‘Man, something is happening with the Detroit Auto Show and relationships throughout the city.’ We have new ideas and a new spirit.’”
Candace Jolliffe of Grosse Ile, a lady in red gliding through the first floor car display as a crowd began gathering upstairs, said, “This is about building excitement.”
She arrived with her husband Ed Jolliffe, president of Gorno Ford in Woodhaven and a board member of the Detroit Auto Dealers Association that hosts the auto show.
Destiny Jackson of Detroit, producer of Michigan Fashion Week, known for spotlighting innovative talent, strolled past a Nero Ferrari (“Nero” is Italian for “black”). She said, “Detroit is no longer just the Motor City. It’s the fashion capital now.”
Hassan Reichouni, a chiropractor from Dearborn, told Shifting Gears, “This ambience — the setup, the people — makes me feel like I’m in Paris right now, at Champs-Élysées. I’ve never owned a Ferrari but they’re very impressive.”
Cars on display ranged from $120,000 (pre-owned) to $700,000, with limited edition vehicles reaching into the millions apiece, said Joe Cauley, co-owner of Cauley Ferrari. “Our clients are business owners, entrepreneurs, doctors, lawyers.”
Salesman Tom Shugars closed a sale at 5:30 p.m., half an hour before the party started. The 2024 charcoal grey Ferrari Roma sold for $255,000 to a buyer in St. Clair County.
Crowds, gathered around the Ferrari collection that filled multiple rooms, sipped drinks and snapped photos as servers passed light and heavy appetizers. Guests could be overheard doing business deals.
Neil Hargress, a healthcare executive from Northville, smiled and said glancing at one of the sleek sports cars, “I’m just taking it all in. I just bought a house.”
Brad Phillips of Farmington Hills, creative director at the Black Sedan video production company based in Detroit, said, “This whole scene brings a little Europe to Detroit. Most of all, it’s Italian — hot, fast and well-crafted.”
Tim Yost of Birmingham, a director at AlixPartners consulting, formerly a marketing executive at Chrysler and General Motors, looked carefully at the design detail. “Anything on wheels still is exciting in this town, and that’s exciting for me.”
Ron Foor of Kalamazoo, senior vice president at the Grand Rapids-based Mercantile Bank and director of governmental banking, took in the sights as a key sponsor. He said the largest bank headquartered in Michigan is committed to supporting the auto industry, “a key aspect to what drives our economy.”
Mercantile is expanding its presence to the Thumb Coast of Michigan, and these new relationships with the auto show are part of an overall strategic plan, said Jenn Moll of Flat Rock, vice president of treasury management.
Mercantile, coupled with MGM Grand, illustrate the diversity of sponsors and surprises yet to come.
What’s ahead
Singer Robin Thicke will perform at the Charity Preview.
“People will come down, decked out and looking good,” Klemet said. “They’ll want to stay out in the city, unable to come down off that buzz. They’ll go to restaurants and clubs in downtown Detroit .... I want people driving down Woodward Avenue on a high with that energy, where they can’t sleep when they get home at 1 a.m.”
See here for tickets to 2026 Detroit Auto Show events Jan. 13-25.
Tickets to The Gallery cost $250/each or $400/pair in support Forgotten Harvest in Oak Park, a charity that provides meals to families in southeast Michigan.
Charity Preview tickets cost $400/each or $700/pair and raise money for Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan, The Children’s Center, The Children’s Foundation, Detroit PAL, C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Detroit Auto Dealers Association Charitable Foundation Fund.
More:
Godfather of Detroit Auto Show taps Sam Klemet as successor
I discovered the ‘underground auto show’ party
Note: As a former reporter at The Des Moines Register, I’m a proud member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative, which offers a great mix of political analysis, features and news.
Thanks for the peek at a very upscale automotive event. Two questions: how does one get on the invitation list and what did you wear?
Fascinating, as always!