It had been 2 years since my last opportunity to attend Driven Edmonton and Grant Macewan was no longer the venue for the long awaited stop for 2021. The previous year had brought with it new rules of engagement for the Driven crew due to health regulations and the organizers chose to move the underground vibe to the Kingsway Garden Mall. With the cover of the parkade and open air, spectators and participants alike could take a break from the action and check out the indoor food courts and shopping.
I had rolled in the night before to check out the Friday night offerings in the Edmonton scene and had a hotel secured within walking distance of the show. It was clear as I drove up to the north side of the Mall that I was catching the tail end of roll in with members of Legit Society all in a row.
I had not seen many Mk5 Supras yet since their release in 2019 and 2021 made up for the lost time. From widebodies to OEM plus, there were several renditions for everyone to check out. First off was the well known yellow Supra owned by content creator Huesaflash with the Advan GT wheels and equipped with a Voltex wing and sidesplitters/front diffuser.
More cars continued to line up as I got closer to the entrance of the show and I recognized several of the Calgary vehicles forgoing the main line and sneaking in from another entrance. Making the 300km drive up likely that morning made it an easy decision for the other owners to let them take their place ahead of time.
Still on roll in, the Pandem widebody Supra from Mercari Auto made it’s presence known before finding a spot to park at the edge of the parkade.
Amongst the vehicles lined up I was pleased to see the heavily modified AMC Javelin that was featured in Canadian Hot Rod Magazine. While Imports and Euros can be found in abundance, some very unique vehicles always make it out.
With the bulk of participants already being parked for the show, spectators were lining up to have their chance to take in the event. Near the ticket booth was the Maserati GranTurismo on air that I have seen a few times at previous events. The bronze on blue flow well and of course anything slammed typically looks better.
Participants continued to prep their vehicles before the show officially opened to the public. The countdown was on as the lineups grew. This part of entering your vehicle into a show is grueling especially if there is bad weather prior to roll in. Nothing like having to detail a car twice especially when there is a time crunch. The expectations are high for a paid to enter venue and it was nice to see the owners being diligent with their final touches.
On the perimeter of the show, several feature vehicles took their places including a Gallardo, F12 and 458 as well as two RWB Porsches. 2021 once again saw Avant Garde Motorsports continued support with the exotic car offerings.
Nestled in between was this fully custom Mazda R100. This has been featured before at Driven Edmonton and the owner made the trip up from B.C to showcase his beautiful vision on the rotary powered legend.
Birdseye views made for more unique captures.
The nice thing about the new venue was the ability to accommodate the larger vehicles. Some of these trucks are quite the investment and definitely had a presence.
With the bustle of participants finalizing their parking spots and the various crews setting up their merch tables, it was soon time for the spectators to make their way to check out the offerings for the 2021 rendition of Driven Edmonton. In part 2, we venture deeper into the darkness of the covered parkade, and head up top once more, for some elevated shots.
Ryoko Kings 