The third annual Drive Festival presented by Mobil 1 was held at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park Sept 8-10 weekend drawing big crowds and jaw-dropping luxury cars.
What is special about Drive Festival is getting to see the exotic cars perform at speed on the track. Manufacturer Displays & Test Drives, Ride Alongs, Mobil 1 Dream Car Speed Run, Car Collections and Clubs, Food Trucks, Motorcycles and much more rounded out a car enthusiast’s dream weekend at the Track.
Luxury cars: Celebrating 75 years of Porsche
Friday was off to a hot start with the Mobil 1 Dream Car Speed Run where we watched a parade of exotic and rare cars flex their muscles. The afternoon saw McLarens and European Exotics on the track performing for the crowd. Later in the day, it was Ford vs. Ferrari, where Ferrari took the win.
We also celebrated 75 years of Porsche and were treated to a track run ranging from old to new Porsche models. That was a treat to see all at once on the track.
Most spectacular about Friday was watching LaFerrari in action on the track! Shifting gears to check out the Drift Taxi in the Speed run. This is not your average Subaru. The Subaru Forester Can-Jam Drift Taxi showed off a little drift in Turn 2 on the first lap cost a few precious seconds, so on Lap 2 it came in hot, literally exploding a fireball out the back as it roared past the checker flag.
At the Aviva EV Launchpad, fans braced themselves for an electrifying adrenaline rush in a fast electric vehicle. With a straight line road ahead, attendees could catapult into a realm of mind-bending acceleration.
Rare Polestar 1 Hybrid
Saturday, sightseers took in the sights and smells of Drive Festival for Day 2. Drive Festival is the ultimate car show for auto enthusiasts in Canada, showcasing the best in new car technology and unparalleled test drive opportunities on three test tracks. Polestar cars offered test drives and proudly showed off a rare Polestar 1 Hybrid with 626 horsepower and almost 800 lb.ft torque.
The Ontario Provincial Police had a promotional Corvette on display and Sgt. Kerry Schmidt treated us to see the convertible up close and personal. The OPP Corvette is not paid for with tax payer dollars, but is on loan from GM to the OPP to use as a recruitment tool. You wouldn’t see this OPP car out on the road, nor does it perform traffic stops. In an exciting cat and mouse track run, the OPP Corvette caught up to the Dodge Viper even with a five-second head start. Nice driving Kerry!
In the Pavillions we saw LaFerrari on display, Richard Mille McLaren F1 Pilot, a Rolls Royce Phantom and a pair of multi-million dollar F1 Fords on display.
The Mobil 1 Dream Car Speed Run provides attendees with a visceral experience to see, hear and watch many of the world’s greatest cars at speed on a two-kilometre (1.25 mile) track. Every vehicle has a clean run and the safety of a closed racetrack as many of these vehicles are irreplaceable.
Multi-million dollar luxury cars on display
Sunday was the busiest day at the track for Drive Festival 2023. We looked at more from Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Aston Martin and Porsche Regarding Luxury made a stop at the Pavilion to speak with race car driver Doug Beatty who explained his 1,000-pound 1981 Crosslé 45F is as close as you can get to taking a go-kart around for a lap.
A short time later Beatty proved right as we watched him careen around corner 2 for a super fast finish. See the process behind his restoration here.
The rest of the day was spent watching the Speed Runs, the American Muscle Cars – including the Shelby 350 GT at speed. Every single person at Drive Festival left with a big smile on their face. Drivers pulled out all the stops Sunday as they were a little more comfortable with the track by Day 3, we really got to see them push these cars.
Seeing the world’s rarest and most exciting cars driven on our Dream Car Speed Run was a big thrill, but the thrill stopped at the track. For all the horsepower and torque at the show, there was a big emphasis on safety. The only place to push supercars to their limit and launch EVs was at the track.
This family friendly event is a must see. For good reason, Drive Festival is Canada’s largest outdoor automotive event. See you next year at the track!
Theresa Longo (B.B.A Hon) is a former Miss Italy World contestant & professional brand ambassador based in Toronto. She covers topics such as performance auto, high fashion and world travel.
