Drive Festival confirms that Outdoor Event Spaces can safely open as part of Stage 2 in Ontario’s re-opening plan come July 7^th, giving Drive Festival the green light they have been waiting for. The New. Automotive. Experience., taking place at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, is Canada’s hottest new outdoor, interactive automotive exhibition taking place Friday, September 10 through Sunday, September 12, just east of Toronto.   

“We are excited to offer automotive enthusiasts, private car collectors, manufacturers, and consumers the first major automotive event in 18 months,” says Festival Director Adam Ruppel, “The event is modelled after the best automotive events in the world and will deliver a modern but more interactive event experience that the North American auto industry has yet to see.”

Showcasing all the best in new car technology and unparalleled test drive opportunities with four (4) separate test tracks, including a Manufacturer test track, a Performance test track and the LINE-X Off-Road test track, attendees can also visit interactive exhibits including motorcycles from both private collectors and Canadian manufacturers who will be showcasing their latest models. An array of exotic cars will be on display including models from Porsche, McLaren and Pagani, while the Automotive Kids Zone is open all weekend long for the kids.

Shopping for a new car? A variety of manufacturer cars including electric and hybrid, cars, SUV’s and trucks, will be on-site offering test drive opportunities in a safe and controlled environment. This 3km closed course test-drive was designed to replicate a real-world country drive including a couple of moderate turns and controlled speed making it suitable for anyone with a valid driver’s license.

Three days of automotive nirvana. Welcome to DRIVE Festival!
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A limited number of tickets will be available July 1, 2021, on our website www.drivefestival.com.
Follow us on Instagram & Facebook @DriveFestivalAuto and subscribe on YouTube @DriveFestival

For additional information please visit www.drivefestival.com or contact Adam Ruppel, Festival Director,
E: adam@drivefestival.com or Allie Marsh, Event Manager, E: allie@drivefestival.com.
For exhibit and sponsorship info, please contact Leslie Lawrence, Sales Manager, E: leslie@drivefestival.com.

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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 is the ultimate new event for automotive enthusiasts in Canada. The first of its kind to showcase hundreds of amazing exotics, classics, performance, and race cars over the course of 3 days in September – all outdoors. The best in new car technology, with interactive exhibits including motorcycles and off-road vehicles, the Drive Festival offers unparalleled test drive opportunities on 4 individual test tracks, plus a chance to see and hear the best collection of exotics, manufacturer & classic cars roar up the Dream Car Speed Run – at speed. It is three days of automotive nirvana. The Drive Festival takes place at the historic 900-acre Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Canada’s leading racing and performance facility, located just 1 hour east of Toronto, Ontario, making it the perfect outdoor venue for thousands of automotive enthusiasts, consumers, and OEM’s to not only see, hear and touch hundreds of cars – but to drive cars too.

National Event Management is excited to announce Nissan Canada’s involvement as an exhibitor at Drive Festival, September 10-12, 2021.

Drive Festival’s dynamic nature lets consumers not only see the latest Nissan vehicles but also offers the opportunity to test drive on one of the three test tracks. 

“Nissan Canada is thrilled to showcase the all-new Frontier and more brand-new vehicles at the Drive Festival this September,” says Adam Paterson, Director of Marketing at Nissan Canada Inc. “Consumers will be able to test drive the Rogue and Sentra while also putting the all-new Pathfinder’s off-road capabilities to the test.”

Show manager Adam Ruppel says, “We are thrilled to have Nissan participate in our event and showcase their history of performance cars, including the 240Z up to the current R35 GT-R on our 2km Dream Car Speed Run. Consumers have the opportunity to see, hear and feel these iconic cars driving uphill at speed, creating the perfect platform to create buzz and excitement around Nissan’s performance cars.”

Drive Festival takes place at the historic 900-acre Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, making it the perfect outdoor venue for thousands of attendees. “With Ontario’s vaccine rollout ramping up very quickly, we anticipate a return to experiential events later this summer. We are excited to offer a new kind of automotive experience for enthusiasts, consumers and OEMs,” says Drive Festival CEO Fred Cox.

About Drive Festival
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 three days of automotive nirvana. drivefestival.com

About Nissan
More information about Nissan in Canada and the complete line of Nissan and INFINITI vehicles can be found online at www.nissan.ca and www.INFINITI.ca. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn and see all our latest videos on YouTube.

For exhibit space reservations and sponsorship info, contact Leslie Lawrence leslie@drivefestival.com.

We are excited to see the all-new McLaren Artura at Drive Festival this September. Ultra-light engineering. Blistering electrified power. Sublime agility and engagement. McLaren to the core. For the next generation.

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.