Photography by Dave MacKinnon
As the official kick-off to the car season here in Toronto, Performance World rocked the International Center with all kinds of things to see and do. Known for decades as a Rod Rod and Muscle Car show, the floor is split almost 50/50 today with tuner cars and audio builds these days. The blend provides a unique look for each car enthusiast to experience and appreciate what others have created for one ticket price!
The main hall shows off all of the premier builds from around North America in large elaborate displays. While most of them are classics and hot rods, we sure appreciate all of the hard work that goes into them. Some of the notables this year were the 1996 Hertz Mustang fastback resto-mod, the Chi-Town Hustler funny car but the one car that could be appreciated by any car guy was the Super Cuda. Built by Legendary Motorcar in Milton, the Super Cuda is a classic 1970 Barracuda shell with a twin-turbo Viper V10 under the lid. With all of the modern equipment on board this car embarrassed a Ferrari Enzo on an oval test track in Detroit!
Imports and Domestics were side-by-side in many cases with the Mustang getting approval from the Sport Compact crowd. In the tuner hall, the bass thundering from the VIBE subwoofer display literally shook the concrete floors and kept the crowd pumped for 12 hours straight. If the sound didn't hit 'em hard, the stage shows sure did with giveaways and smokin' models for the bikini contest up on stage.
All kinds of Euro-mobiles showed up in force. From Benzes and Audis to Bimmers and Porsches, the crowd was in awe of the fine machinery on display. But this is Southern Ontario and one of the hottest Euro nameplates is the Volkwagen. To that end, there were dozens of examples of the "People's Car" on display with an outstanding Jetta MKVI sedan with carbon fiber galore.
Honda and Acura product was at every turn because they still have many supporters around Toronto. The H-badge still blazes brightly in these parts with all kinds of swaps into: showcars, drag cars and track cars all over the show. Over at the PASMAG booth the lovely models were in full promo mode, selling subscriptions and showing off the product on our new Sony Scion tC project car. Rivaling PASMAG was the Kinetik Model Lounge where some of the hottest names on the scene were posted-up signing autographs and switching numbers.
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