The Motorama Custom Car & Motorsports Expo roared back into The International Centre this year, continuing a tradition that has been running since 2015 and somehow getting bigger and louder every year.
The heart of the the show is a celebration of traditional hot rods, the type of cars whose roots are in the dry lakes of post WWII California. Builders back then took ordinary pre-war cars, chopped them, stuffed in powerful V8s, and tried to go faster than anyone across miles of dusty desert. The cars on display at Motorama capture that same spirit; flashy colours, big engines, and plenty of shiny chrome.
On the opposite end of the spectrum are the rat rods, the scruffy rebels of the hot rod world. Where traditional hot rods are all fresh paint and period correct parts, rat rods look like they just crawled out of a scrapyard, looking for a fight. With rusty panels, exposed welds, and parts that borrowed from anything motorized. In a way rat rods are more like the cars built in the 40s and 50s when the goal was to go fast, not to be all shiny and pretty. That’s why people love these creative cars.
Of course, the definition of a “hot rod” has changed since the days of flathead V8. Today, the modern hot rod often comes with a turbocharger and an ECU. Small Japanese cars like the Honda Civic and the Subaru Impreza WRX have taken the old hot-rod formula—cheap, lightweight, and endlessly modifiable—and replaced big displacement with clever engineering and forced induction. In other words: fewer cylinders, more boost.
Meanwhile, some of the heavy hitters of Japanese performance car culture were also on display at Motorama, and are carving out their own place in the scene. Cars like the legendary Nissan Skyline GT-R R32, the twin-turbocharged Toyota Supra Mk4, and the muscular Infiniti G35 remind everyone that Japan makes muscle cars too.
The funny thing is that if you glance at the cover of the show’s event guide, you might think you’ve stepped into a time machine. The artwork features a gorgeous 1950s-style custom—low, smooth, and dripping with chrome. But inside the halls, tuner culture is everywhere: brightly wrapped imports, turbo plumbing that looks like stainless-steel spaghetti, and engines that whoosh rather than rumble.
And that contrast is exactly what makes Canadian car culture so entertaining. From vintage hot rods to turbo imports, every generation finds its own way to chase speed and self-expression. If Motorama proves anything, it’s that whether the engine has eight cylinders or four, car enthusiasts will keep the culture alive for decades to come.
Looks like fun. I think that mouse is going to be in trouble with the girl mouse for ogling the woman wearing the cheetah print.
Looked like a great show! We used to have World of Wheels in Boston but no more. Our car shows will start up in April weather permitted 🙂