January was a good month for Montreal auto lovers. For nearly two weeks, downtown’s Palais des congrès was filled with the best in European, Japanese and North American-made cars – a dream sightseeing opportunity for students studying for automotive careers in mechanic colleges across the city. Many vehicles present were even making their Canadian debut. For those that didn’t get a chance to stop by the Palais des congrès for an afternoon of auto amusement, we have all the highlights right here.
Cadillac Elmiraj Concept
Auto lovers who are into big, showy vehicles would have been pleased to see Cadillac’s new Elmiraj concept at the Montreal Auto Show. This 17-foot long, 2 door coupé renders a feeling of luxury not unlike that of Bentley. The exterior speaks for itself, with a shiny blue topcoat that reflects the impressively sculpted steel body. Meanwhile, the interior is all class, with tan leathers seats which are also reflected on the car’s dash.
Alfa Romeo 4C
No doubt one of the most popular vehicles on display in Montreal last week was the Alfa Romeo 4C – a car which looks and drives like a classic Ferrari. The 4C can do 62 miles per hours in 4.5 seconds with its powerful turbocharged engine. The one downside to this vehicle is the interior. While spectators couldn’t see the interior due to the Alfa Romeo being positioned on a rotating display, many reviews have acknowledged that the seating and amenities lacked some of the class and excitement one could find in the Cadillac Elmiraj.
Toyota FT-1 Concept
While Toyota is a company well known for its affordable, family-designed vehicles, every once in a while they’ll come out with a design that shakes up the status quo. The Toyota FT-1 (Future Toyota 1) Concept is breaking the status quo for 2015. This racing concept car is highly focused on the exterior sculpting, featuring ducts, inlets and vents for airflow management. The racing design even features a retractable rear wing, which deploys at higher speeds. While this vehicle is only a concept for now, we suspect that Toyota will start painting a bigger picture on the race car scene very soon.
Magnum MK5
The real showstopper – and a ground-breaking vehicle for automotive service technicians in Montreal – was the Quebec-made Magnum MK5. Dubbed the “New Canadian Supercar”, the MK5 is the product of a father son business run under the name Jean-Pierre St-Jacques. The MK5 is famous for its rapid acceleration and lightweight body, and can hit a top speed of 150mph. Even renowned car television show Top Speed praised this Quebecois invention – putting Canadian-made race cars back on the radar.
Nissan BladeGlider Concept
The most interesting design at the Montreal Auto Show was no doubt the electric Nissan BladeGlider. Slightly resembling a bobsled – as the name suggests – the BladeGlider is a high-concept high-performance road vehicle. Despites its boxy and unusual shape, Nissan actually hopes to bring this vehicle into production within the next few years – which may not be all that unreasonable, considering the major push towards electric vehicles we can already see taking place.
Did we leave out any notable vehicles from our list of highlights?
