Driven 2021, Part 1 – let’s get this started! 

As I was working on the photos for this post I was trying to think of how best to summarize the overall field of cars and where the builds – where our community – stood as compared to prior events and years. I think it’s safe to say that as a whole, Calgary (/Canada) is continuing to really step up its game and bring out some amazing vehicles. 

The progression shown by this year’s Driven may have been emphasized a bit however by the larger gaps between events that we’ve obviously had this last little while. In normal years we’d have a number of “big” shows and other events that would stand out as the main gatherings of the calendar year and so there would be more chances – and therefore more frequent chances – to see all of the cars brought out in show-ready form, unveiling new modifications and progress. Naturally however over the last roughly year-and-a-half there have been less of these which meant that there was more time between them to work on the cars, and so when something did arrive the cars on display would have progressed more than usual. 

Driven 2021 as a whole had some really solid builds on display and if anything, I think the added excitement of this being one of the first seriously big events for many of us in quite some time only added further motivation to push that little bit more when it came to making changes and improvements. Having been deprived of not only Driven but other events last year, it seemed many were really wanting to bring their A-Game this time around and come back with the absolute best they had to offer. And they did.

There was a time when you could log on to Speedhunters or The Chronicles and notice a sizable difference in the builds showcased there and what we saw here. These days the gap has been closed considerably to say the least and many vehicles at Driven would have looked right at home amongst what you’d see at Wekfest or similar in the USA or other parts of the world. The quality parts, the details, the fit/finish/execution; it was all there. 

There were plenty of clean, understated builds that rewarded a deeper knowledge of the platform and all the subtle and rare parts that had been fitted, but at the same time many of the insane, in-your-face builds still refrained from being too much with a good overall balance and collection of parts/work that all played well together. You can still have your widebodied, liveried, mod-list-3-kilometers-long cars that don’t overwhelm you with a million different things happening.

I think – primarily – Driven 2021 was like a “Welcome Home” party, as we celebrated coming back to an almost-normal state (though we’re not out of the woods yet) and saw old friends once again as we all enjoyed what brought us together in the first place: cars. As an indicator of where the community stands though, and how we’ve progressed over the years, it was a good one. We’ve come a very long way in a relatively short amount of time – looking back on the first Driven I participated in (2013) and the first Beyond meets I attended (2009) – and I’m excited to see where the community goes from here. 

And now, on to the Driven coverage….

With them being our neighbours we start off with Redline Sorority’s row and Brooke’s Q specifically, sporting some Stillen aero and Vossens. 

Alyssa’s RS5 was up next, dumped on its insanely bright 20″ Pur wheels. You can just see a hint of the underglow here; one mod continuing to make its way back into the scene. 

Justine – AKA Canadian Colette Davis – bringing the bright colours (and more neons) wherever she goes with her FR-S.

Ending off the first side of Redline’s line-up was Jynelle’s Miata, and here’s where I want to point out one detail in case you hadn’t noticed it yet: the mod lists/display sheets. Matching too, I might add. I’m genuinely surprised these haven’t been as prevalent in our “tuner/modern classic” world as they are in the classic/antique world. They don’t even have to be overly fancy but a nice, well-composed mod list or bit of information on a car goes a long way to help showgoers better understand and appreciate the work they’re looking at. Spend five minutes in Word and type something up, or go above and beyond like the girls did with their matching set of sheets if you wish. It adds a lot! 

On a similar theme, the inclusion of the drag wheels and tires as part of the display for Mel’s ballistic little Jellybean was a wicked touch. I think a few of us still want to see this pitted against Sriracha to find out which big turbo Mk7 is faster than the other…

Maggie’s R – I always enjoy seeing the JDM/Euro mashup, with the Volk RE30s bolted to it.

Yolanda’s Mk3 ST, now featuring yet more carbon fiber and some custom slam panels underhood courtesy of Infamous.

And lastly, Alexa’s Chaser sporting some D-Max aero. Lots to come for this car, from the sound of it!

Sitting directly behind my Silvia was Ken’s G, sporting its new lip spoiler…but not yet sporting the dusty footprints on the roof. Haha

Cheeky shot of my interior, with Grogu on my mother’s Focus reflecting in the window. Fortunately he did not try to steal my shift knob at any point.

Jason loves VIP. Jason has two kids. Therefore, this should be Jason’s future. DO IT. Think of the fun you’d have taking them to shows with you, teaching them how to perform Barrel Inspections so that it may be passed on to the next generation. 

(And thank you for not destroying me for the “patina” of my Super Advans’ barrels)

I’m pretty sure this was on an IS if memory serves, because the car had caught Marshall’s eye and he then called me over to check out the crazy camber out back. The dust picked up from the parkade floor only helped to highlight it. Haha

This facelift ST was one that none of us were terribly familiar with. It looked to have some RS parts added in as well as some bolt-ons under the hood. Nice aggressive fitment too. The photo didn’t really turn out which is why I didn’t include it, but the interior featured a custom carbon fiber steering wheel which was rather nice. 

Talk about an unexpected find – a 45,000 kilometer, untouched EK. It was actually listed as for sale, and I pray that whoever buys it KEEPS IT AS IT IS. There can’t be many of these left stock and in this condition.

Well, maybe blend in a spot repair for that front bumper scrape. Maybe.

One thing I’ve really enjoyed seeing over the last handful of years has been all of the experimentation with carbon fiber finishes and patterns by OEMs and the aftermarket alike. The hood on this Civic grabbed my eye with its honeycomb pattern, and note how it was continued into the headlights! Wicked detail.

Jeff’s M3 with its Most Wanted livery; it adapts pretty well to the newer (and more-doored) F80 body style!

Daniel’s M3 was always mental, but has only gotten even crazier over time. Note how the passenger headlight was partially tunneled through for an air feed. 

This was the first CTR LE I’d seen in person. I see that Alex M recently picked one up to go with his restored PY ITR (like we didn’t see that coming) and I’m really hoping we can see them side-by-side some time for photos. Wink.

As a side note, I didn’t shoot a ton of this particular row because the lighting was pretty harsh but Jason did an excellent job covering it. In between his inspection duties.

After wandering around the first level for a bit I figured it was time for a first pass upstairs in the sun (and considerable heat). The variety in just this trio was amusing – Stephanie’s bagged TT found itself sat between a pretty seriously-reworked Mk4 337 and full “police” (Polezei) themed Mk7 complete with lights. 

Interesting to see a fully-debadged grille on this S3. It looked to have a pretty healthy spec sheet for the engine so maybe it’s an attempt to be a sleeper. Haha

One thing I need to point out is the huge range of crazy wheels that are on the market today; and if anyone is going to have something new and different, it’ll be the VW/Audi guys. There’s always something insanely quirky (and cool) to be found here. 

Wouldn’t change a thing. Except the owner’s name on the registration…

ghost.steve’s Vorsteiner Huracan – this thing has some pretty intricate exhaust work out back as well, but it’s the kit that steals the show for me. A stock Huracan looks surprisingly tame in comparison. 

Beautifully-presented E28 (if I have my older chassis codes correct) from Sheni’s. I particularly liked the use of darker blue wrinkle coat on some of the underhood components

Also in Sheni’s booth were a very tasteful M2 and their M4 GTS; two examples from the final days of good-looking BMWs. I said it.

You know I had to get a shot of this! More and more of this generation are popping up at local meets and shows now and I can’t get enough of them. I’m dying to take KIDNDOG out to something and have the chance to park next to a heavily-customized example like this. Custom interior, shaved handles, immaculate chrome – job well done.

Take your pick – mine would be the white example (also ghost.steve’s) for the roll bar that was added in – fixing the issue caused by our vehicle laws, prohibiting new cars with cages being sold.

This Carry makes me smile every time I see it. It must be an absolute blast to drive around the city though I imagine it would also be terrifying to find yourself on Deerfoot, surrounded by lifted F-350s, trying to not get squished. 

Porsche Centre had a Taycan on display, looking pretty good with its Brumos livery.

I’m not sure what’s crazier – the fact that a Liberty Walk A90 was present, or the fact that it wasn’t the only widebody A90 at the event. I don’t know off-hand what the width increase from the LBWK kit is but this would be the route for the owners who, when asked how much wider they want to make their car, respond with “yes”. 

Also, I don’t intend to stick with a theme of having all the Driven cover photos being new Supras but I just kept coming back to the previous photo when trying to pick one for this entry. What can I say, it’s cool to see these being built up! 

There’s no doubt the BN Sports kit is definitely one of the wilder offerings for the RX-7. I was never personally much of a fan but I must say that with this satin green and simple sponsor logo layout, it worked rather well. 

When it comes to widebodies it always amuses me how worked up people get over not just widebody-vs-stock body, but visible bolts versus hidden hardware. I say it all comes down to the chassis in question as well as the build’s overall direction. 

Clayton’s amazing Veilside GT-R – in a world where more and more of these are being restored to factory spec, seeing one like this – that seems to have teleported here straight from the past – is a real treat. 

Birdy’s cars were drawing lots of attention but with the chrome gold FR-S being, well, chrome gold you may not even notice that the Supra was sporting a new StreetHunter widebody. It was another last-minute install set to debut at Driven but they got it done! 

I think it’s probably time that I wrapped this up for the night, so we’ll close out Part 1 with Liam’s freshly made-over FK7. He’d shown me a sneak peek of the colour a handful of weeks prior to the event but it didn’t prepare me for how vibrant it actually was, when there was this much of it! Haha. 

It’s a bit hard to see in this photo but the carbon kit featured the same honeycomb pattern seen on the black coupe earlier in the post; I’ll start Part 2 off with another couple of photos so you can all see it better. On that, I’m off to bed. Thanks for reading!

-Bill