These California coffee shops bring you F1 cars with your morning cup of Joe

These California coffee shops are bringing you F1 cars with your morning cup of Joe.

Motoring Coffee has two locations in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and attracts visitors from around the world.

If you ever wanted to take in the sight of a Ferrari while sipping a cappuccino, this would be the place for you.

Motoring Coffee founder Michael Rapetti spoke to Supercar Blondie about the business’s origins and the reactions he gets from customers walking through the door.

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Taking a look inside Motoring Coffee – the California coffee shops with F1 cars inside

Michael Rapetti started up the Motoring Club in 2018, with the intent of creating a permanent cars and coffee destination.

From there, it grew into two coffee shops, one in Los Angeles – opened in 2023 – and one in San Francisco – opened in 2024.

To say that these establishments were a draw for car lovers would be an understatement.

In fact, you may recall that a YouTuber drove his Honda S2000 100 miles to the San Francisco location.

But that’s nothing – Rapetti has received international customers who had his coffee shops on their ‘To-see’ lists.

“I’ve heard a lot of people who are traveling from Europe or Asia,” Rapetti told Supercar Blondie.

“They’re not coming to LA just to come to the coffee shop, but it’s like a draw for them.

“That was always the hope that this would be a worthy stop for anyone who’s interested in cars and wanted to experience some local car culture.”

And while it’s not a competition, we have to say that California has some seriously top-notch car culture – partly thanks to Brian Wilson from The Beach Boys.

Now, we all love a good coffee shop.

Even those of us who don’t need our daily dose of caffeine can find something to enjoy in these relaxing settings.

If you stop by Motoring Coffee, you get more than just that – you get to see some epic cars up close and personal.

And it’s not just one car sitting stationary all year round.

Oh no, this is a full rotating calendar of cars on display.

Variety is the name of the game, and all sorts of cars have appeared in Motoring Coffee over the years.

“In both shops, we have a showcase spot front and center in the middle of the shop, right by the coffee bar,” Rapetti explained.

“I try to have a kind of rotating calendar of cars.

“We have two different F1 cars, we’ve had Red Bull RB2, Alfa Romeo, and a new Lucid.

“It’s a full range.”

Some of the cars are offered up by members who want to flex their vehicles, while others are provided through partnerships.

How have people responded to the shops?

For Rapetti, the F1 cars have been a particular highlight.

“The whole idea for me of the coffee shop is to make cars and all things motorsports more accessible to people,” he explained.

“So seeing the expression on people’s faces when they walk into the shop and are like ‘Whoa, you have a real F1 car in the shop’, that’s pretty cool.

“We get a lot of car enthusiasts, but we have a lot of coffee drinkers who want to have a coffee in an inspiring shop with some good energy.

“They might not come for the cars, but they’re inspired by them.

“I think it’s fun to also hear from people who are not in the cars come away and say, ‘I’m starting to look at them differently. I have more interest.'”

With events constantly being hosted at both Motoring Coffee locations, there’s something for everybody.

And once you’ve finished up there, you can head along to the Petersen Museum, where there’s always an interesting exhibition – whether it be about hypercars or a Lamborghini Aventador.

To learn more about Motoring Coffee, visit the company’s website.

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