Montreal car show rolls out exotic rides, kid-sized EVs and a tribute to Gilles Villeneuve

The 81st edition of the Montreal car show opens on Friday where visitors can expect exotic cars, family sedans and electric mini-cars for kids.

The 81st edition of the Montreal car show opens on Friday at the Palais des Congrès where visitors can expect exotic cars, family sedans and electric mini-cars for kids.

Upstairs, they were unveiling rare rides like “The Eccentrica” that haven’t been displayed in Montreal before.

The Quadriam collection includes a million-dollar special edition called The Centenary — only 25 have been made in the world. Or how about a Cadillac with built-in backseat screens that have parental controls on the dashboard for the driver to adjust?

Car show spokesperson and retired racer Bertrand Godin says this is where people can try the new trends.

“It’s important for the people. They touch it, they smell it, they sit in it,” he said.

There’s also the high-tech Hyundai “Crater” concept car for off-road adventures.

One admirer said, “It looks stunning. I think it’s very out of the ordinary. I’ve never seen that. It has this Minecraft effect on the side!”

There’s a display of the 12 best vehicles in the country, according to the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada. Categories include utility vehicle and electric car.

With an emphasis on Canadian production, the car show has almost everything.

There’s also a tribute to six-time Formula 1 winner Gilles Villeneuve. A collection of memorabilia and cars revisits his racing career in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Gilles’ daughter, Mélanie Villeneuve, says her father would be in awe of today’s technology.

“I don’t know that he would like self-driving cars at all. And I’m not sure how he would have evolved with the technology. He had to use his hands. There were gears. There were five speeds. And today it’s all, like, electronic,” she said.

Godin says watching Villeneuve made him want to become a racer. In the Atlantic series, Godin got to drive the racetrack named after his idol. And like Gilles Villeneuve, he had the honour of waving the checkered flag. Godin says,

“I won in Montreal and when they gave me the flag, I remember that little kid dreaming.”

If your little kid is dreaming of a mini pink Porsche, the family zone at the car show has that too, mini-electric cars for kids to try in a closed area, with parental controls, of course.

See it all at the Palais des Congrès until Jan. 25.