The Oasis restaurant on Lake Travis. There were other Italian vehicles there, too – both classic and modern. But my favorite sighting wasn’t a car at all…
This fellow’s father owns this gorgeous 1968 Lamborghini Miura. To keep the oil flowing in turns, the man used his engineering background to devise and install a dry sump system. Gutsy move on such a beautiful and valuable machine.
I had always wanted to see a Diablo SV in the metal. This specimen happened to be a Monterey Edition, one of 20 made.
This early Diablo was a real looker, too.
Somebody brought my favorite Ferrari, the 456. Too bad it was an automatic.
I also scratched laying eyes upon one of these off of my bucket list.
My buddy Dan told me there was a bunch of people crowding around someone, taking pictures with him and having him sign things. I wasn’t aware there were going to be any special guests in attendance. As I got closer, I couldn’t believe my eyes…
It was Valentino Balboni!
Getting to meet Lamborghini’s famous factory test driver was the definition of a wonderful surprise and made that bucket list of mine a little shorter.
* = Taken at Cars and Coffee at The Oasis on Feb. 9.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
