The plane landed shortly after 1 am. Dragging ourselves through the airport, we hailed a cab at the curb outside. We told the driver our destination as he check over a...map? An actual paper map. He gently placed the map down and planted his foot on the accelerator. A small chirp could be heard from the wheels as we shot away from the sidewalk.
Checking my phone for the destination, it says we should arrive in about 30 minutes. “How long is the drive?” I ask the driver, “15 minutes” he replies, abruptly. ”I believe it” I say under my breath as I notice the speedometer hit north of 150 kilometers per. Any fatigue we were experiencing had been ripped away by the ride to the hotel. As I sat on the bed I checked my watch, we had about 3 hours to rest before having to be on the move again. We use it to our advantage and try to sleep. The next 48 hours were going to be filled with a taste of what the auto culture in Toronto had to offer.We arrive at the convention center early, flashing our lanyards they allow us into the hall featuring all the manufacturers newest and best.
Everyone is representing, some for the first time in North America. Here is our top 5 features from the show.
1.) Autostrada’s booth was a jaw dropping collection of some of the finest the world has to offer. I found myself taking in the cars instead of actually shooting them. To be in the presence of that many legends was something else.
2.) We had previously seen the Mclaren Senna in Arizona during Barrett-Jackson but this one really stood out. When it initially was unveiled, people criticized Mclaren for making such a hideous vehicle. I find it interesting how people don’t say those things when standing in front of it. I mean, all carbon with gold accents? You can’t go wrong
3.) I had previously seen pictures of the Lego Bugatti Chiron and thought of how intensive the job must have been. I have yet to see a real Chiron but this one, in a way, is rarer. It took 16 people 13,000 hours and 1 million pieces to make this 1:1 scale model.
4.) For the first time in North America, the Devel Sixteen made its debut in Toronto. I’m a big skeptic of this thing as it hasn’t been proven on any other grounds other than its engine output, I’ve never even seen the thing move to be honest. It’s more of a engineering experiment then a proper vehicle. Either way it was cool to see and boy was it loud…
5.) Another first for North America was Racing Point’s Formula 1 team unveiling their 2019 livery. Drivers Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez were on hand to present the car to the media. Being up close to an F1 car is a wild experience. You can see how the body work has been sculpted to be as aerodynamically efficient as possible. From some angles it looks more like art than machine.
We’re excited to share the experience and hope the pictures do it justice. It was a very well put together show with many highlights. Were you there? What was your favorite part? Join the conversation on our Instagram.
