Walking through the Auto Show is like a trip down memory lane. All the cool cars you used to drive (or wish your drove) are on display like the gems they were. It’s amazing how great cars from just a few decades ago look now. Boxy shapes and crisp character lines clearly indicate cars of the ’80s and ’90s.
A Lotus Esprit Turbo sits in the Gentry Lane booth, waiting for a new owner, and further in the show a Lamborghini Diablo race car bumps doors with a McLaren F1, one of the finest exotics ever built.
For gearheads a generation older, an original Lamborghini Miura SV was on display in bright, almost lemon-yellow paint with matching interior. This was the first ever ‘supercar’ from way back in 1966 and it made everything Ferrari was making at the time look stodgy and old. Truly a modern masterpiece.
The Auto Show is all about ‘new’ and there was no disappointment with the latest and greatest from Europe. An example of the Koenigsegg Jesko was on display, 1 of 125 in existence, the Jesko holds the world record for the 0–400–0 km/h test at 27.83 sec. While a McLaren was the cover girl on the official Auto Show program, if there was a centerfold, it would have been the new V16 powered Bugatti Tourbillon.
Despite being one of the most exclusive and lowest volume car companies in the world, local dealership Pagani of Toronto had a large booth with several models on display.
There included the new Pagano Utopia, the original Pagani Zonda, and the elegant Pagani Huayra R pictured below that looks somewhere between the Batmobile and a Le Mans race car. Not the fastest, or even the most expensive supercars in the world, the designs af Mr. Horatio Pagani are elegance on wheels.
Also displayed were the attainable sports cars of the era; the kind a working-class person could afford to buy new, even though today they have become high-dollar collectibles.
Next to an old Corvette sat a sinister black 1987 Buick Grand National, the fastest American production car of its era, easily beating Corvettes and Mustangs. A bone-stick 1984 Honda Civic CRX was shown with original two-tine paint and el-cheapo steel wheels. This was the original pocket rocket of the ’80s. A 1970 Plymouth Barracuda in Lime Light paint represented the old-school muscle cars.
With over 40 car companies (OEM) showing off their latest and greatest models at the 2026 Canadian International Auto Show, this certainly was the biggest event on the car calendar. The big European luxuty brands like Audi and Meredes returned to the show after a multi-year absence, and big-boys BMW took an entire level of the South Convention Centre for themselves!
No-shows this year included Honda, who were awarded “Car of the Year” for their Civic despite abandoning ship. Other pathetic marques included Mazda, Porsche, and big losers Volkswagen Canada who “…has taken the decision to support other initiatives, such as our sponsorship of the Canadian National Men’s and Women’s soccer teams,”. How pathetic; this is Canada and nobody cares about soccer here!
An honourable mention must be made to Ford. They’re the only ‘domestic’ left in the affordable sports car category.
The Ford Mustang GT is true to its roots with a powerful V8 up front, delivering power to those rear wheels. This year Ford displayed both a coupe and convertible of it’s Mustang GT, including this retro-inspired Ford Mustang FX appearance package with white wheels and teal paint, like the old Fox-body Mustangs of yesteryear.
The odd thing is that Ford doesn’t make cars anymore; the Focus, Fusion, Fiesta, and Flex are mere memories. It’s just trucks and SUVs from the blue oval now. At least they were smart enough to keep the iconic Mustang around. Keep that one on the shopping list!
The Grand National’s my fave!