For the first time, the Ferrari Club of America is planning to host a two-day exotic car show at Edwards Air Force Base in May for the troops living and working there.

While the show has been an annual event at Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc for the last five years, club officials decided to add a second show because of its growing popularity.

“We’re all so fortunate to live in Southern California and have Ferraris, and I thought it’d be more meaningful to share our passion,” said Jim Bindman, event organizer and vice president of the club’s southwest region. “The airmen are a lot of young families that have kids, and they’re all either in Mojave or up at Vandenberg away from their home.”

The daughter of an Vandenberg airman sitting in a real Lotus car at a past event. Photo courtesy of Jim Bindman.

An estimated 10,000 Air Force service members and their families will have the chance to enjoy 75 exotic cars — including Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Aston Martins and more — lined up on their very own flightline on Saturday, May 14.

Bindman described some of the cars planned for the event as “historic,” noting that Aaron Robinson, executive editor for Car and Driver Magazine, and Robert Ross, automotive editor for Robb Report Magazine, are both bringing their vintage Lamborghinis.

While the Vandenberg show is typically open to the general public because it is located on a golf course outside the base’s main gate, the upcoming show scheduled at Edwards Air Force Base will not allow general admission because of its location inside the base.

“This car show is strictly to support our troops,” Bindman said. “They have about 10,000 people that work on the base, so it’s going to be a big event.”

Car owners are expected to meet Friday, May 13 in Santa Clarita to have a breakfast sponsored by Ferrari of Beverly Hills before driving over to Edwards Air Force Base together.

Owners will be treated to a VIP tour of the base and a barbecue lunch at the officer’s club afterward. They will then take their cars onto the base’s flightline alongside jets and planes for photo opportunities.

A child sitting in a real Lotus car at a past event. Photo courtesy of Jim Bindman.

Bindman said he first got the idea to contact officials at Vandenberg Air Force Base in 2012 after organizing a car show for a children’s hospital.

“It was so successful and wonderful to see these kids enjoy these cars, and then I decided maybe I could partner with the military,” he said.

After contacting the public relations department at Vandenberg, Bindman learned that efforts had recently been made to organize a car show for the base’s troops, but that they had had difficulty finding exotic car owners to participate.

Bindman put on what he called a “hugely successful” show for the troops not long after, and came up with the idea of VIP tours and activities for car owners to help ensure continued participation.

“I told them to make it really amazing and get the people to participate, I think doing a day-before tour for the car owners would make it so much more meaningful,” he recalled. “And many, many car owners have gone to all four events, and they’re coming back (this year.)”