This car show was different than most I have attended, The Piston Powered Ranch felt like a day out in the country that happened to have Lamborghinis!
On Saturday, October 17, 2026, we drove up to Rancho Jaramillo in Unionville, Tennessee, in the farm country of Bedford County south of Nashville, for The Piston Powered Ranch. It’s a car event with a real working-ranch backdrop, and it was one of the more memorable days I’ve spent around cars this year. It’s a beautiful ranch that lent a perfect setting to display cars of any type, but these were not just everyday traffic.
Half the fun of any event is getting there, and this one started on one of my favorite driving roads in the area, US-231 north out of Fayetteville, TN. The 231 North has some beautiful scenery, along with sweeping curves and rolling hills. It makes for a great cruising road that adds a bit of excitement to the drive.
A Car Show on a Working Ranch
The name tells you most of what you need to know. The show field was set up on open grass, hay bales, and the ranch kept its character. A Brahma bull and the Horse were the center of attention as well as the cars.
AutoPro of Nashville, the title sponsor, had a Lamborghini Urus and Aston Martin on display.
Kennedy Performance Center brought a great BMW display, including their 135 track build and two M2 Competitions.
GC Performance Classics brought the Howe Racing HR6, a real race car guests could get up close to. We spoke to them about this car, its a purpose built spec just for the Trans am series. When we arrived they had it fired up and it sounds awesome, power comes from a 6.0 LS.
Prancing Horse of Nashville showed the Ferrari Purosangue. This SUV is one of the most beautiful ones on the road today, the interior is superb in red leather, definitely the right choice here!
I loved how the cars were displayed, instead of your typical rows upon rows, each genre or brand had it’s own Corral like section, just perfect for a ranch! The Rolls Royce and Ferrari was in the VIP section and between them was the ranch’s horse, it stood by the Ferrari Purosangue, a prancing horse next to a prancing horse. On the other side was the absolutely gorgeous Rolls Royce! The Lamborghinis also had a friend near by, the Brahma Bull was placed to the right of them. These additions is exactly what made this event special.
The day offered plenty beyond the cars. The vendors had food, drinks and even custom cowboy hats. There was also bagpipe music to open the day from Richard Katz, and an escaramuza riding demonstration by Jackie Jaramillo.
One of the most meaningful moments of the day was Mechanics on a Mission presenting a car to someone. The nonprofit gives cars and free repairs to people in need.
So The Piston Powered Ranch is more than a Car Show. Part of the profit goes toward filling one semi truck with food for kids’ school lunches, with the work going through two Tennessee nonprofits, Mechanics on a Mission and One Generation Away. The goal is $2,500 for a full truck, and as of this writing the organizers say they haven’t reached it yet. Gifts of any amount from $1 are still open on the website, so if you want to help either of these here are the links to do so!
A lot of car culture is about what we drive. This was about what we can do with it.
The event was hosted by the Jaramillo family at Rancho Jaramillo and produced with PaddockGavin Events, the Nashville based automotive content and events brand of Gavin Brooks. This was the first Piston Powered Ranch and it’s definitely an event worth attending. Gavin has other shows in the works, so keep an eye on his site and Instagram to stay in the loop, Sign up for updates at www.pistonpoweredranch.com, and follow @itspaddockgavin on Instagram and visit the website www.paddockgavin.com
A big thank-you to the Jaramillo family and PaddockGavin Events for putting on such a memorable event, and for using it to help local charities.
After leaving the show we didn’t head straight home. Shelbyville is the nearest town of any size to Unionville, and it’s the kind of Middle Tennessee county seat that’s made for a slow walk, so we parked and strolled the downtown square. I love Southern Courthouse Squares, I may have mentioned that in previous articles. The Capri Theater is another cool attraction about the Shelbyville downtown.
For a bite to eat we stopped at Grindstone Cowboy, at 100 South Spring Street just off the square. It started as a coffee bar, restaurant and live-music venue in Eagleville, founded by country singer Craig Campbell and his wife Mindy, and the Shelbyville location opened in December 2025. We split a fried bologna sandwich and wagon wheels, their take on onion rings. A Fried Bologna Sandwich is a Southern delicacy in my opinion. The restaurants atmosphere was nice, there was a stage for live music and the decor was definitely Nashville Country themed.
Afterwards we made our way to Jon English Sports Antiques its right across the street from the Theater. There’s cards of every type here, from early baseball to Garbage Pal Kids. The store has great sports memorabilia too.
It was an enjoyable day from start to finish. A good drive up US-231, a great car show on a working ranch, and an easy afternoon walking the historic courthouse square in Shelbyville. That’s the kind of day Southern Motoring Society is about, the cars are the reason you go, but the road and the places along the way are what make it a day worth remembering.
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