Informal pop-up meets in parking lots are fun. Impromptu events on a random Thursday night, just hanging out with gearheads talking about how they’re going to modify their ride. At the opposite end of the spectrum are organized events like ImportExpo, held last Saturday, June 27, 2026.
The rain-or-shine show was held at The International Centre in the suburban city of Mississauga, right beside Pearson International Airport. That part of the story becomes important by the end of this article.
ImportExpo is a dominant force in the Canadian car scene, and in 2026 the series is proudly celebrating 16 years strong. The shows provide a premium experience: a high-octane indoor car show spotlighting top-tier custom builds, including JDM, Euro, exotic, and drift cars. ImportExpo brings builders, gearheads, and lifestyle brands together under one roof.
Last year, the focus of the show, the “big reveal” car, was an ultra-exclusive Rauh-Welt Begriff RWB widebody Porsche 911. This year, the crowd gathered as the covers were pulled off a heavily modified BMW E90 M3 in “Procyon Camo,” serving as the official Procyon season livery reveal.
But that’s not what makes this show special. Nope. It’s the green WRX in Red Bull livery, the Tesla wrapped like an ‘Initial D’ drift car, the purple GT-R on white wheels, and the F&F-era Mitsubishi Eclipse with a leather car bra. It’s the 30-plus-year-old imports on air-ride suspension and BBS wheels, built all winter and driven all summer.
These local builds may not have the same global clout as a Liberty Walk Lamborghini or an RWB Porsche hand-crafted by Nakai-san, but they are the purest examples of the Canadian car scene. This is what people are building in their driveways and garages through the cold months, then proudly putting on the road when the weather finally behaves. No trailer queens.
During the awards ceremony, the top three examples from each car brand represented at the show were recognized. Special recognition was also paid in categories like ‘Best Import,’ for which the Synthwave SVX owned by Chris Demaras was handed the 3rd place trophy.
The title of ‘Best in Show’ went to a heavily modified Nissan GT-R, driven nine hours from the U.S. by owner Max Caroca. The incredible slammed widebody, sitting on custom wheels, gave every other car owner in the room a new high-water mark to aim for next year.
As the show concluded, car owners were invited to roll out through the garage doors and thrill the crowd with a symphony of two-step exhaust sounds. Some cars revved up and shot flames from their tailpipes, while other, more conservative drivers simply aired out and cruised away into the night.
While the show was scheduled to wrap up at 10:00 PM, getting all 350 cars out of the 185,000 sq. ft. facility took at least an hour. Even then, nobody was going home. The party just moved out into the parking lot, where subwoofers boomed into the night and hooligans rev-bombed as aircraft from Pearson continued taking off overhead. Police presence? None at all. Private property, organized show, and with passenger jets climbing into the sky next door, the cars almost sounded polite by comparison.
ImportExpo was a well-organized event showing a diverse cross-section of car culture. From high-dollar rides to backyard-built daily drivers, the show captured what the Canadian car scene is really all about: creativity, commitment, late nights in the garage, and just enough noise to make the airport seem like part of the soundtrack.
So many gorgeous rides NH doesn’t see many of them.
The daily drivers, so polished and customized, are the highlight. Those imported exotics seems so unattainable… yet beautiful.