Today is Family Day here in Canada. The holiday weekend has traditionally pulled double-duty as the start of the Canadian International AutoShow, filling the two Metro Convention Centre buildings in downtown Toronto.
We checked out the show on Media Day last Thursday, before the estimated 340,000 people visit between February 16–25. From Acura to Volvo, and all the smaller stands in-between, we’ve got the best and worst of the show here for any fellow Canucks hoping to visit the CIAS this year.
What to Check Out: The World’s Fastest Car and More Exotica
One of the big surprises this year was the Koenigsegg Agera RS. Fresh off its 277mph run as the fastest production car in the world, the Agera started Media Day with the sound of its 1,341hp V8. What’s more, CEO Christian von Koenigsegg himself was the man responsible.
Von Koenigsegg was on hand for brief questions later on in the day. A modern celebrity for the PlayStation generation, he gamely stuck around for “just one more” question and extended autograph/selfie sessions.
In the same Auto Exotica room was millions of dollars worth of rare metal. The Bugatti Chiron — the Agera’s 0-400-0 main challenger — was on hand. Across the aisle, the Huayra Roadster sat across from it, in the well-stocked Pfaff section.
Pfaff is not only the sole distributor of Pagani in Canada, but it also recently added BAC to its portfolio. To celebrate, the Mono was on display as well. Like the Huayra, Chiron, and ‘Egg, it’s easy to get lost in the myriad engineering details of the little track car.
Pfaff will be hosting the Canadian GT Sport championship this coming weekend. Plenty of GTPlanet members make up the sixteen finalists — but more on that over the coming days!
What to Avoid: The Crowds
The good news here is that, if you’re reading this and haven’t yet gone to the show, you’ve missed the worst of it. The MCC had very nearly 70,000 people go through its doors in the first two days of the show alone, and that means budgeting a lot of extra time just moving from exhibit to exhibit.
We popped by on Sunday and it was, frankly, a zoo. It’s encouraging to see so many people interested in cars, but if you’re there to take in the sights, it’s going to take a long time. That’s especially true if you plan on actually sitting in any cars. There were lines for most of them, with length seemingly related to sticker price. It may be four years old now, but the BMW i8 still commands a huge line thanks to those looks and its butterfly doors, for example.
Oh yeah, and there will be a constant ring of people around the AMG Project One. It’s a stunning thing in the flesh though, with more than a hint of CLK GTR, so don’t skip it.
Basically, go during the week, if at all possible.
What to Check Out: Lego and Your Own Bullitt Film at Ford
The massive Ford section of the South building has a lot to check out. Up first is the new Bullitt Mustang. It really does improve on the recent facelift for the car, but it’s the social media activation that deserves a mention here.
If you’ve got the time, you can star in your own short video featuring the new car. It’s an impressive setup, and the final product is quite well done. You won’t measure up to McQueen himself, but then again, who could?
Across the floor, there’s literal tubes of Lego for the young (and young-at-heart) to craft their own Ford Racing avatar. It’s a smart move, really: kids will make the connection between the building blocks and the Blue Oval. We know we would.
The Ford GT is once again on display, this time paying tribute to the late Dan Gurney. It’s a bit of a local hero, the GT, as it’s built just outside Toronto at Multimatic.
What to Avoid: The Food
Don’t do it. Toronto has one of the most vibrant restaurant scenes in the world, and plenty of it is well within a ten-minute walk of the MCC. That might not be an option if you’ve brought the whole family, but be prepared for $32 pizza on-site.
You can head to Union Station without even braving the cold, and that features a bunch of recent culinary additions.
What to Check Out: The Classics
This year provides a bumper crop for the classic car fan. We’re not just talking about the yearly Art and the Automobile exhibit either. Don’t get us wrong, the A&A room is always good for a visit, with the pristine pre-war cars sharing the floor with an Alfa Romeo 1900 CSS and Jaguar XK120 FHC. There’s a Porsche 356 too, and it wasn’t the only one at the show.
This year’s big retrospective exhibit celebrates 70 years of Porsche. The 356 is one of five vehicles there; the others include the 912, 930 Turbo, Carrera GT, and 918 Spyder.
But far and away the biggest surprise was the number of classics at manufacturer stands. More specifically, Japanese makes were looking back at their greatest hits. Mazda took an early lead with a beautiful Cosmo sharing the stage with a FD RX-7 and original NA MX-5.
Over at Honda, a very tidy original Civic was on display. In a sea of modern-day versions, it highlighted not only the growth of the compact car over the ensuing four decades, but the over-styling. The Civic Type R in particular, with its slashes and vents and giant wheels, really drives that point home. Though we can’t fault Honda for showing it off in classic Championship White.
Things got much, much smaller at the Subaru stand. While the seven-seat Ascent was the main attraction in terms of new metal, the tiny little Subaru 360 made a welcome guest appearance. A car that should need no introduction to Gran Turismo players — and more recently, Forza fans — the Ladybug was an awesome treat to see in the flesh.
The Canadian International AutoShow runs from February 16–25.
