HAGERTY PARTNERS WITH DRIVE FESTIVAL TO TEACH THE JOYS OF DRIVING A MANUAL TRANSMISSION

TORONTO, ON – Drive Festival is thrilled to announce that Hagerty, the world’s largest membership, insurance and media organization for enthusiast vehicle owners, will bring its popular Ride & Drive and Driving Experience programs to Drive Festival 2021.

The Hagerty Driving Experience teaches drivers of all ages how to drive a manual transmission in a safe closed-course environment. Hagerty Ride & Drive puts car lovers behind the wheel of cool, classic vehicles for an unforgettable dream cruise.

“Drive Festival is excited to partner with Hagerty on this exciting new feature,” says Adam Ruppel, Drive Festival manager. “Hagerty is the perfect partner as they embrace the philosophy of our dynamic automotive festival. Cars are awesome and Drive Festival is about providing attendees with amazing once-in-a-lifetime automotive experiences.”

Andrew Count, Canadian events coordinator for Hagerty, said most people, if they know how to drive a manual transmission at all these days, learn from a relative, which can lead to some tense moments.

“We bring in a fleet of classic manual-transmission cars, along with professional instructors, and that provides a low-stress environment to row your own gears,” he said. “It’s a ton of fun. Drive Festival fans are going to love it.”

The lineup of cars available for Hagerty Driving Experience and Hagerty Ride & Drive will be announced closer to the event. Sign-up details are pending and space for both programs is limited. The Hagerty Driving Experience also will have several automatic transmission cars on-site available for those looking to drive a classic without the need to shift.

About Hagerty

Hagerty is an automotive lifestyle company and the world’s largest membership, insurance and media organization for enthusiast vehicle owners. Hagerty is home to Hagerty Drivers Club, DriveShare, Hagerty Valuation Tools, Hagerty magazine and Motorsportreg, and is the world’s largest provider of specialty insurance for the enthusiast vehicle market. We keep car culture alive for future generations through numerous youth programs and by supporting the Historic Vehicle Association (HVA) and the RPM Foundation. For more information, call (800) 922-4050 or visit www.hagerty.com. For classic car insurance, information and automotive values please visit www.hagerty.ca. 

Motorcycles will charge you with excitement, thrills, curiosity and awake your senses. Drive Festival is excited to add the wonderful world of motorcycles to our event!

Many of the most desirable OEM manufacturers will have motorcycles on display, including some for test rides. You can use this as an opportunity to learn and experience the newest technology and innovations in the motorcycle industry.

Antique, vintage, classic and modern motorcycles will be displayed by passionate riders eager to share their prized possessions. So passionate that they have formed clubs and associations nationwide to organize and gather for rides, rallies and events like Drive Festival. Many of these motorcycles are so valuable and desirable they become the main attraction for gearheads and dreamers alike.

Get ready to experience the new world of motorcycles…it’s coming to Drive Festival.

Drive Festival will host a dedicated Electrical Vehicle awareness feature showcasing the latest and greatest in electric technology.  Experts will be on hand all weekend to answer your questions and share the many benefits of the electrification of the automobile industry, including less dependence on fossil fuels, lower emissions and decreased long-term maintenance costs.

In 2020 EVs represent approximately 3% of all new car sales but this will increase to a forecasted 30% by 2030! Investment in EVs by the automotive industry is in the hundreds of billions.

Never experienced driving an electric or hybrid automobile?  No problem!  A number of manufacturers will have electric vehicles on hand to test-drive on our Pro-Series Manufacturer Test Track.

Driving or riding in some of the quicker electric car models will give you a new appreciation for their tremendous power delivery. The all-electric Formula E has seen many top manufacturers move their racing and technological to this relatively new race series. Electric technology innovations created for racing have trickled down to passenger cars, including several exotics and hyper-cars that will be display at speed in our Dream Car Speed Run.

With new government regulations, billions invested by automotive companies and a phase-out of internal combustion engines; worldwide adoption of hybrids and electric cars is on an upswing.  As charging infrastructure rapidly improves and battery costs decrease while offering longer-range on charge; electrification is here to stay.

Drive Festival is an outdoor dynamic automotive event that has an appreciation of the past and an eye on the future. We are excited to be involved with innovative companies as we educate and inspire consumers on the benefits of automotive electrification.

Happy Motoring,

Adam Ruppel,
Drive Festival, Festival Manager

McLaren ELVA driving in our Dream Car Speed Run.

Thank you for supporting Drive Festival in 2021, as it was a terrific success! Our event delivered a dynamic automotive event to the Ontario market never seen before. We want to thank the volunteers, exhibitors, sponsors, vehicle owners, venue, contractors and attendees for supporting this first-year event in a difficult time.

We have received a lot of feedback and input to make our 2022 event even better. As a result, we have confirmed September 9-11, 2022, as we work on creating Canada’s best dynamic automotive festival.  

• Delivered over 4,000 test-drive experiences over 3-days with four manufacturers.
• Some of the world’s most exclusive cars are shown at speed on our Dream Car Speed Run including a Pagani Huayra Roadster BC, Porsche 935, original GT40, McLaren Can-Am car – 100s of unique and amazing vehicles participated over the weekend.
• Seventeen thousand people attended Drive Festival over 3-days; this was the most prominent automotive event in Canada for 2021.

For any questions or feedback, please email info@drivefestival.com. 

Thank you for your support,

Adam Ruppel and the Drive Festival Team

National Event Management is excited to announce a partnership with kubik, an award winning leader in live marketing, as the Official Experiential Agency for the DRIVE Festival, Fred Cox, President of National Event Management and co-founder of The DRIVE Festival commented; “With extensive experience within the automotive sector and deep roots with many of the brands we work with, kubik is a natural fit that will bring creative insight and value to our inaugural event.”

Kubik will be providing their design expertise for many of the environments and exhibits within the DRIVE Festival venues and grounds, contributing to the festival organizers goals of creating a unique and upscale mass outdoor automotive event. kubik will also be managing many of the operational aspects at 3 of the test tracks at the Festival to ensure seamless logistical execution for manufacturers, and to maximize the test drive experience for consumer attendees.

Elliot Kohn, COO of kubik, expressed his enthusiasm to assist with the launch of this premium opportunity to bring automotive excellence to the public; “in our international work, we’ve seen the value of premium trial events and how well it drives and engages an audience. We’re pleased to be able to participate and promote the inaugural DRIVE Festival to our Canadian automotive clients as an excellent opportunity to reach and engage their consumers.”

The DRIVE Festival takes place Sept 11-13, 2020 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

About DRIVE Festival
Created after touring the world’s foremost car events and modelled after the most popular automotive event in the world. DRIVE Festival will showcase the best in new car technology and offer unparalleled test drive opportunities on 4 test tracks. Plus see and hear the best collections of exotic, manufacturer & classic cars roar up the Dream Car Speed Run, all weekend long. It’s 3 days of automotive nirvana. drivefestival.com

About kubik
kubik shapes brand stories into extraordinary experiences while exceeding customer expectations through innovation, ingenuity, enthusiasm, loyalty, and the drive to succeed. With world-wide capabilities, kubik has been producing trade show programs, corporate and retail environments, and experiential events for Fortune 500 companies and global brands the past 35 years. For more information visit thinkubik.com

For exhibit space reservations and sponsorship info contact Amy Knowles at amy@drivefestival.com, or 416-560-5700.

Check out Hassan’s impressive iconic Ferraris making appearances on our Dream Car Speed Run!

DRIVE FESTIVAL VIDEO FEATURE

Check out our video of this iconic 1956 Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing which will appear on our Dream Car Speed Run at Drive Festival.  We are very excited to be working with the amazing owner Hassan to bring a number of his amazing, rare and iconic cars to our event.

NOT ONE BUT FOUR TEST TRACKS!

Adam from Drive Festival takes you through our four amazing test tracks including an off-road, performance, manufacturer and classic car area that are all a part of The New Automotive Experience happening at Drive Festival, Drive Festival, September 11-13th 2020 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

See the video as Drive Festival Co-Founder, Adam Ruppel, gives you a detailed breakdown of the Dream Car Speed Run Track at Drive Festival.

The world’s most iconic cars are seen mostly in showrooms, rarely on the streets, and not permitted to be driven at speed.

The Dream Car Speed Run is an exclusive event that celebrates the power and engineering behind elite car manufacturers.

Owners or manufacturers of qualifying vehicles will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to drive their cars as they were intended: at speed in front of thousands on our Dream Car Speed Run.

Cars are meant to drive. Drive Festival is about dream cars driven at speed!

A lion in a cage is much less exciting than one in the wild. At Drive Festival the world’s most exciting cars will open up and unleash all of their performance, downforce and fury on our Dream Car Speed Run. Our features and test-drive opportunities are all about getting you up close to your dream cars.

Garage queens are nice to look at, but our organizers are auto enthusiasts who love to DRIVE. Performance, exotic, race, classic, off-road and luxury we love them all for different reasons. Whatever your automotive passions you can be sure that Drive Festival is inclusive of a fantastic variety of cars from the past, present and future.

We are excited to introduce Drive Festival as Canada’s new automotive experience for all brands. Stay tuned for more features and partnership announcements over the coming months. We are excited to bring our passion for cars and 60 years of combined event experience to Drive Festival and look forward to seeing you!

Thank you,

Adam Ruppel
Co-founder, Manager

Fred Cox
Co-founder, CEO