CHICAGO AUTOFEST 2025
I recently relocated to Chicago and have been hearing about the Chicago Autofest ever since I moved. My friends have been telling me about it so I decided to check it out with one of them as well as my 3 year old son. The autofest was held at the Mccormick Place Convention Center and it was a pretty huge center. It’s also right next to Lake Michigan so it was nice seeing that in the backdrop as I drove up.
The show had a great turn out and there was lots for all ages to do. There were tons of vendors selling food, souvenirs, toys etc. and quite a few driving experiences for both kids and adults to enjoy. My son even drove a mini Tesla around for a few laps. His skills honestly surprised me as this was his first time driving one of those ”mini cars” without me having to steer for him, and he did great.
As far as the cars I took pictures of some of my highlights as you will see. It was definitely nice seeing the Castrol livery on the Toyota GR 86 as I entered the show. The cockpit was some serious business from what I was able to view. It was outfitted with all the race car goodies like a roll cage and bucket seats with a harness(Blah, Blah, Blah). I wish I could’ve taken that car for a spin but I can tell that they did not want anyone getting too close to it(Lol).
The UIC engineering cars were pretty impressive as well. I took a liking to what seemed to be a white go kart( Please don’t quote me). I think it made about 80 horsepower(Can’t remember the CC’s nor the torque) from a little honda engine as seen in my pictures. Another favorite were of course the Chicagoland Premiere cars. They were all modified sports cars from the Chicago area and it was a bit of a surprise as I thought there wouldn’t be anything like it at this show. I was expecting only new stock stuff and concept cars. So it made me happy seeing the type of cars that I actually like. It’s also always a plus seeing an RX7 in person…..always.
Another big favorite was the white, blue and orange Bronco. I really like what they did with it and it was considered a prototype. So I’m not sure if Ford is planning to bring out more like these or what but it was pretty cool as I have taken a liking to the 2 door Broncos.
I took pictures of some of my favorites but I missed a few that I will mention here. It was cool seeing the new Nissan Z and Honda Type R. I tried taking a seat inside both cars but they had a lot of attention and long lines to check out the interiors. The Type-R was more my favorite as it was just so nice, clean and well put together and I tend to favor more grip stuff. So of course the front wheel drive civic had my attention. The Z was nice as well but I wasn’t able to get too close to it because it had so much buzz and rightfully so. All in all I was glad to see both because I love JDM vehicles and can’t wait to see how people modify these in the years to come.
My apologies for not taking pictures of everything as I said earlier I had my son with me and shooting everything with a 3 year old can be a bit tricky. In conclusion I would say this is a very good show to check-out if you live in the Chicago area. I hope everyone enjoys my pictures and thank you for checking out my blog.