Niagara 5000 to feature some truly rare vehicles and race cars

The afternoon of Aug. 9 is shaping up to be a bonanza on Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Queen Street for casual and serious automotive enthusiasts alike. 

The lineup of cars coming to town beginning at 1 p.m. will feature rare luxury and high-performance models both classic and contemporary, professional race cars, a historic tractor and a rarely seen, in Niagara at least, luxury electric vehicle.

Organizer Alana Hurov explains that Queen Street will be divided into three distinct sections, the first spanning from in front of 124 on Queen Hotel and Spa to Victoria Street, sponsored by Pfaff Auto Group, Pfaff Motorsports and McLaren Toronto. 

Those who attended last summer’s similar event will be happy to see an assortment of McLarens back in town. But also on the way to NOTL that day are two professional race cars sponsored by Pfaff - the Porsche GT3 RS and the McLaren 720S GT3 Evo. 

The Evo will be of special interest to racing fans. In fact, the very same car will be driven by Canadian race car driver James Hinchcliffe at a race in Atlanta, Georgia the previous weekend. 

The 720S GT3 was the first GT model designed and built in-house by McLaren Customer Racing and is based on the highly acclaimed 720S from the SuperSeries. It has a light, but immensely stiff carbon fibre MonoCage II chassis structure and a race-prepared version of the M840T 4-litre twin turbo V8 engine.

As DJ Dave Stiles provides a soundtrack in this section, there will be two photo opportunities for visitors to the Niagara 5000. 

The Victory Lane Orange Carpet will be sponsored by The NOTL Local. There, people will have the chance to have their photo taken with The McLaren 720S GT3 Evo. Photos will be on notllocal.com the next day. 

Revel Real Estate, the Fine Estates Team and MAC Inc. will sponsor the Revel Red Carpet.There will be a winner’s circle atmosphere there as people pose with the million-dollar Porsche GT3 RS. 

The Policaro Group of luxury automotive dealerships will oversee the block between Victoria and Regent Streets. A highlight of this stretch will be a 1958 Porsche tractor. 

Besides the tractor, Fasiha​​​​ Choudary, Policaro’s group account manager, promises a classic 356, a Cayenne in a special green colour, a rare (only 2,500 made) Dakar and a Taycan GTS. Also on hand will be two competition race cars - the 718 Cayman GT4 RS and the 911 GT3 RS.

The history of the Porsche marque will be highlighted with the help of about 30 members of Porsche True North, one of the country’s largest Porsche enthusiast groups. They will display a selection of privately-owned Porsches that will show how the design of certain models has changed over the years. 

Vendors in this section include Il Carlotta, offering orange gelato and other treats, and Greaves Jams. A pianist will be playing in this block as well. 

The final block, from Regent to King Streets, will feature several more vendors, some locally-owned supercars and a chance to get close to one of the luxury electric vehicles from Lucid Motors.

The California-based company produces the Air out of a purpose-built factory in Casa Grande, Arizona. Lucid has a showroom inside the Yorkdale Shoping Centre in Toronto, where Martin Paquet is the sales leader - marketing and delivery for Ontario. 

“The Air is the longest-range, most efficient electric car on the market,” Paquet tells The Local. “We also focus on luxury in terms of fit and finish and the quality of the material that we use. We offer post-modern luxury. And they go fast - we’ll be bringing a vehicle to Niagara that has 1,000 horsepower. It might be one of the fastest cars at the show.”

Paquet is excited to showcase the car in Niagara and promises that visitors will have a chance to slide into the driver’s seat to experience the quality of the interior and the technology that drives the vehicle. 

“It’s one of those vehicles that checks a lot of boxes for someone who is looking for a comfortable car, something that also brings high performance, and is electric,” says Paquet, who hopes to bring two different versions of the Lucid Air to NOTL. 

The Lucid Air will share some space with a few Jaguars and some classic luxury cars owned by local residents. Hurov says there is still some room for a few more locally-owned vintage cars. She welcomes anyone interested to email her at [email protected].

Hurov has lined up more vendors for this part of the street. Queen Street store It's All Fun and Games will be offering  car-themed puzzles and The Reading Gym will be there to promote children's literacy. Kids VIP Canada, who are helping facilitate the 9:00 a.m. Kids Niagara 500, will be showing off the latest in kids electric vehicles. 

As well, representative from Cassie and Friends, the national charity that helps children and families living with juvenile arthritis and other rheumatic diseases through research, education, connection and support, will have a booth there. 

And Hurov adds that volunteers for the big day are still needed. Information can be found on the Niagara 5000 website. 

“This is going to be most unbelievable car show people have ever seen,” Hurov enthuses. We’re really tapping into supercars at the high end luxury market. There will be millions of dollars of race cars and supercars here that day.”